^S^Ji 


'^r^^-a_. 


mfmmm 


3  3  2  D 


/\/c? 


\;    y^/' 


JNCIDENTS  and  ANECDOTES 
OF  EARLY  DAYS 

=  AND 


HISTORY  OF  BUSINESS 


IN  THE  CITY  AND  COUNTY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 
FROM  EARLY  TIMES  TO  THE  PRESENT 


PERSONAL  REMINISCENCES 

REMARKABLE  EVENTS 

ELECTION  RESULTS 

MILITARY  HISTORY,  ETC. 


By  A.  T.  GLAZE 


1905 

P.   B.   HABER   PRINTING  COMPANY 
FOND  DU   LAC.   WISCONSIN 


F-r 


A.  T.  GLAZE 


TO  THE  READER 


/m^  IME  flies;    days,  weeks,  months  and    years    rush,    into    the    past    with 
\^^       astounding   rapidity.     Half    centuries   pass   over   our    heads    and    we 
hardly  realize  it.     Every  day  of  these  rushing  years  we  are  helping, 
more  or  less,  in  the  development  of  events  which  become  history  to 
those  who  are  to  follow  us. 

Rushing  through  the  affairs  of  daily  life,  absorbed  in  business,  we  do 
not  stop  to  consider  the  importance  of  collecting  and  preserving  historical 
facts  and  relics,  although  we  concede  that  simple  justice  to  the  old  in  years 
who  have  shaped  the  history  of  their  time,  as  well  as  for  the  help,  guidance 
and  gratification  of  the  young,  that  a  record  of  important  events  should  be 
made  and  relics  collected  and  preserved.  In  the  present  condition,  many  of 
the  interesting  and  important  events  in  the  history  of  the  city  and  county  of 
Fond  du  Lac,  are  practically  lost  to  the  people  of  today  because  of  the  widely 
scattered  sources  from  which  they  can  be  obtained  and  the  time  requisite  for 
the  search.  A  few  relics  and  curiosities  of  the  early  days  of  the  city  and 
county  have  been  collected  by  private  parties,  and  very  many  more  might  be 
obtained  from  old  residents  and  the  few  pioneers  who  are  yet  living.  Many 
of  these,  of  peculiar  historical  interest,  as  the  years  pass,  may  be  wholly  lost 
or  destroyed.  To  this  extent  at  least,  delay  is  dangerous  and  every  active 
citizen  unquestionably  feels  that  no  further  time  should  be  lost  in  this 
matter. 

Impobtant  to  the  Community. — A  true  record  of  the  time  and  place  of 
important  events,  in  a  form  of  easy  and  prompt  access,  is  almost  a  necessity; 
when  noted  enterprises  originated  and  how  developed;  dates  of  individual  and 
society  efforts  in  public  affairs;  when  public  improvements  were  entered  upon 
and  when  completed;  dates  and  results  of  local  elections,  and  a  wide  range 
in  the  histories  of  churches  and  societies.  Is  there  one  person  in  the  city  to- 
day who  can  readily  and  promptly  answer  the  questions  of  how  many  and 
what  regiments  went  into  camp  heire  at  the  time  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion 
and  where  their  camps  were  located;  what  military  companies  were  organized 
wholly  or  in  part  in  this  city  or  county  and  to  what  regiments  were  they 
assigned  for  duty;  who  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  men  returned  from  the  war  with 
military  rank  higher  than  first  sergeant;  what  is  the  record  of  this  city  as  to 
independent  military  companies;  where  is  the  ground  upon  which  the  first 
house  in  this  city  was  built,  and  for  whom;  what  was  the  starting  point  of 
our  present  public  library,  who  was  identified  with  xc  and  what  changes  and 
vicissitudes  has  it  passed  through  in  reaching  its  present  grand  proportions; 
Lake  Winnebago  navigation — when,  where  and  by  whom  was  first  steamboats 
built  and  the  names  of  them;    when  were  our  railroads  built;    when,  where 


and  by  whom  were  first  artesian  wells  drilled  and  from  which  we  get  the 
name  "Fountain  City";  the  straightening  of  the  river,  together  with  hundreds 
of  like  interesting  subjects. 

Important  to  Individuals. — Correct  records  place  individuals  in  rightful 
positions  in  matters  of  local  history,  of  which  they  are  often  deprived  or  re- 
garding which  they  are  more  frequently  misrepresented  because  of  incorrect 
information. 

There  are  now  about  45  men  and  12  women  living  in  Fond  du  Lac  who 
were  residents  in  1850  or  earlier,  and  of  those  who  have  lived  here  45  years 
and  less  than  50  years,  there  are  about  120  men  and  45  women,  a  total  of  but 
about  225  people  in  Fond  du  Lac  today  who  have  lived  here  more  than  45 
years.  Of  fals  total,  only  about  57  resided  here  in  1850  or  earlier.  In  the 
natural  course  of  things,  these  people  must  now  rapidly  pass  away.  Their 
memory  cannot  be  depended  upon  much  longer,  and  with  them  must  go  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  events  in  pioneer  days.  Is  it  not  important  then,  that 
means  be  adopted  to  preserve  the  facts  and  such  relics  as  may  yet  be  gath- 
ered bearing  upon  the  early  history  of  Fond  du  Lac.  We  have  a  State  His- 
torical Society,  of  which  every  intelligent  citizen  of  tine  state  is  proud,  and 
like  local  societies  now  exist  in  many  of  the  cities  of  the  state,  among  them 
Milwaukee,  Kenosha,  Waukesha,  Janesville,  Beloit,  La  Crosse,  Eau  Claire, 
Osihkosh,  Green  Bay,  and  even  so  small  a  city  as  Ripon  has  a  prosperous 
society  for  this  work.  Such  a  society,  with  its  collection  of  records  and 
relics,  is  able  to  claim  and  prove  what  rightfully  belongs  to  the  locality  and 
its  citizens.  And  in  after  years,  those  wTno  were  at  the  front  in  shaping  the 
destiny  of  Fond  du  Lac,  wiil  not  be  wholly  lost  to  the  memory  of  their  suc- 
cessors. 

At  least  five  histories  of  the  state  and  three  of  the  county,  have  been 
compiled  and  printed  by  others,  and  may  be  readily  consulted  when  desired, 
therefore  for  this  work  it  is  desirable  to  speak  only  of  personal  and  city 
matters.  Some  errors  will  creep  in  though  the  most  determined  efforts  are 
made  to  avoid  them.  The  writer  has  been  familiar  with  the  scenes  and  with 
the  people  for  nearly  sixty  years  and  has  endeavored  to  avoid  the  provoking 
mistakes  of  those  who  have  preceded  him. 

The   pioneers   who   settled   this   county   worked    under   disadvantages,    but 

success  followed  hard  work.     They  came,  they  saw,  they  conquered  the  land 

to   the  south   of   Lake  Winnebago,   and   today   we  have   one   of   the   grandest 

sections  of  the  great  state  of  Wisconsin. 

A.   T.   GLAZE. 


Vrofit  by  the  Vast; 

Live  for  the  Present; 

Hope  for  the  Future, 


MILITARY  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


Our  Independent   Military   Companies  and  Part  Taken  in  the  War 

of  the  Rebellion.     Company  E  and  the  Part  it  Took 

in  the  Spanish-American  War. 


Fond  du  Lac  National  Guard. 

Few  people  residing  in  Fond  du  Lac  today,  have  knowledge  of 
the  fact  that  at  a  comparatively  early  day  of  the  city's  history,  there 
was  a  military  company  here  known  as  the  Fond  du  Lac  National 
Guard,  of  which  D.  E.  Wood  was  Captain,  D.  E.  Hoskins,  First 
Lieutenant,  J.  W.  Partridge,  Second  Lieutenant,  E.  H.  Jones, 
Orderly.  It  was  organized  in  1857,  and  with  its  beautiful  uniforms 
and  soldierly  movements,  was  the  pride  of  the  young  city.  An  inci- 
dent of  state  historical  interest,  was  the  loss  and  recovery  of  some  of 
the  cbmpany's  arms.  T.  S.  Weeks  was  the  company  Armorer,  and 
as  such,  kept  and  cared  for  the  guns.  One  morning  while  the  excite- 
ment was  on  in  connection  with  the  arrest  of  the  negro  Glover  under 
the  provisions  of  the  fugitive  slave  law  and  rushing  him  from  Mil- 
waukee to  Ripon  for  concealment,  these  company  arms  suddenly 
disappeared  and  immediately  the  question  for  investigation  was,  who 
took  them  and  where  were  they?  The  feeling  was  high  over  the 
rescue  of  Glover  from  the  custody  of  the  U.  S.  Marshal,  and  the 
determination  to  hide  and  protect  him  shown  by  Booth,  Rycraft  and 
the  anti-slave  element  at  Milwaukee,  and  La  Grange.  Daniels, 
Pickett  and  their  friends  at  Ripon.  The  U.  S.  ]\Iarshal  and  deputies, 
the  latter  including  F.  D.  McCarty,  then  Sheriff  of  this  county,  and 
John  S.  Horner,  of  Ripon.  were  in  lively  pursuit,  and  it  was  feared 
by  many  that  there  might  be  trouble.  The  morning  that  Tom  Weeks 
discovered  the  guns  were  gone,  followed  a  night  of  considerable  ex- 
citement at  Ripon,  and  the  evening  of  that  day  occurred  the  memor- 
able gate-pin  scene,  a  standing  joke  in  the  region  for  many  years. 
The  joke  was  perpetrated  in  this  way :  Glover  was  supposed  to  be 
and  in  reality  was  concealed  on  the  premises  of  Armine  Pickett,  five 
miles  northeast  of  Ripon,  and  McCarty,  Horner  and  two  other  men, 
whose  names  are  lost  to  history,  proceeded  in  that  direction.  In 
front  of -the  Pickett  home  was  a  gate  of  heavy  proportions,  and  to 
hold  it  in  place  when  not  in  use,  a  pin  was  used  in  a  hole  bored  in 
the  gate-post.  Arriving  at  the  scene  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  the 
officers  were  met  by  Mr.  Pickett,  who  led  the  way  through  the  gate, 
but  just  as  he  passed  through,  he  seized  the  gate-pin,  and  in  a  very 
determined  manner  threatened  to  shoot  if  they  did  not  get  out  of 
there.  And  they  got  at  a  lively  rate,  for  they  imagined  the  gate-pin 
to  be  a  revolver  and  knew  Pickett  to  be  a  man  of  determination.     It 


6  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

seems  Judge  Horner  was  slow  to  run  and  was  led  away  by  an  animal 
yoke  around  his  neck. 

But  as  to  the  guns — Lieut.  Hoskins  by  careful  and  persistent 
detective  work,  found  that  Colwert  Pier,  3-oung  and  full  of  political 
enthusiasm,  led  the  boys  who  took  away  the  guns,  and  explaining 
the  penalty  to  them,  the  guns  next  morning  were  found  in  their  usual 
place  and  the  scene  closed. 

But  as  to  the  subsequent  career  of  the  National  Guard,  the  beauti- 
fully uniformed  and  well  equipped  military  company.  Its  ending 
was  neither  bright  or  pleasing.  It  went  out  because  the  men  tired 
of  it  and  did  not  come  out  for  drill.  Gen.  C.  S.  Hamilton,  a  graduate 
of  West  Point  and  a  Mexican  war  veteran,  then  a  resident  of  Fond 
du  Lac  and  known  as  Capt.  Hamilton,  agreed  to  drill  the  company, 
and  faithfully  did  so  when  he  could  get  enough  of  the  men  to  come 
to  make  it  worth  while.  Amory  Hall  was  used  for  a  drill  room,  and 
while  some  worked  hard  to  become  proficient,  others  were  said  to 
be  too  lazy  for  anything  and  especially  so  for  military  duty.  Result — 
the  company  died  in  i860  from  neglect.  There  was  a  total  of  sixty- 
four  men  in  the  ranks,  comprising  many  of  the  most  popular  young 
men  in  the  city.  Capt.  D.  E.  Wood,  afterward  Colonel  of  the  14th 
Regiment  in  the  war,  was  a  remarkably  fine  appearing  ofificer,  as  also 
w^ere  Lieutenants  Hoskins  and  Partridge,  and  when  they  appeared 
on  the  streets.  Fond  du  Lac  people  were  proud  of  them.  Capt.  Wood 
was  full  six  feet  tall,  well  proportioned  and  as  straight  as  an  arrow. 

For  many  years  preceding  the  war,  there  was  a  great  deal  of 
pride  taken  in  local  military  companies,  and  nearly  all  cities  had  them. 
Fond  du  Lac  was  not  an  exception.  But  the  war  came  and  the 
people  had  all  the  military  side  of  life  they  cared  for.  Few  such 
companies  are  in  existence  now  outside  of  regular  state  authority. 
The  National  Guard  is  recognized  by  most  of  the  states,  but  the 
companies  are  on  a  far  different  basis  than  those  of  ante-war  times. 

Of  the  members  of  this  the  first  military  company  in  Fond  du 
Lac,  E.  H.  Jones,  Milt.  Ewen,  T.  S.  Weeks,  Fred  Kalk,  C.  L.  Pierce, 
are  the  only  ones  known  to  be  now  living. 

A  full  history  of  the  S.  M.  Booth  troubles  before  spoken  of.  may 
be  found  in  the  History  of  Wisconsin  by  Moses  M.  Strong. 

Hibernian  Guards. 

The  Hibernian  Guards  was  an  acti\'e  military  company  in  exist- 
ence in  Fond  du  Lac  in  1861  when  the  war  of  the  rebellion  started. 
It  was  composed  of  ninety-three  of  the  active  young  Irishmen  then 
living  here.  They  had  an  armory  at  the  corner  of  Johnson  and  Ban- 
nister streets,  where  they  met  for  drill,  but  when  the  weather  would 
permit  drilled  on  a  large  parade  ground  where  St.  Patrick's  church 
now  stands.    The  of^cers  of  the  company  were: 

Captain — James  Maginnis. 

First  Lieutenant — Samuel  Ray. 

Second  Lieutenant — Martin  Curran. 

First  Sergeant — Edward  Midglc}-. 

Lieutenant  Ray  had  seen  service  in  the  Mexican  war  as  a  captain 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  7 

and  was  the  drill  master.  When  news  came  of  the  firing  upon  Fort 
Sumter  and  excitement  was  great,  the  young  men  in  the  ranks  of  the 
Hibernians  partook  of  the  feeling  that  prevailed  and  expressed 
themselves  as  ready  to  enter  the  army  and  take  part  in  putting  down 
the  rebellion.  Two  days  after  the  news  came  the  men  were  called 
out  by  Capt.  Maginnis  and  directed  to  meet  at  the  court  house  at 
7  :30  p.  m.  to  formally  offer  their  services  to  the  government.  The 
boys  were  there  almost  to  a  man  and  after  some  patriotic  speeches, 
Capt.  Maginnis  formally  made  the  offer  of  services.  But  now  came 
an  incident  that  caused  a  row  and  broke  up  the  meeting.  S.  E. 
Lefiferts,  holding  a  commission  as  Quartermaster  General  in  the 
state  militia  from  Gov.  Randall,  was  present,  and  after  the  remarks 
by  Capt.  Alaginnis,  was  said  to  have  declared  that  "there  are  enough 
young  Americans  to  put  down  this  trouble  inside  of  ninety  days  and 
we  do  not  want  any  red  faced  foreigners."  Air.  Lefferts  soon  dis- 
covered that  this  remark  was  a  foolish  one  and  disappeared,  so  that 
the  men  could  not  find  him  for  punishment.  The  men  then  formed 
in  company  order,  marched  to  their  armory,  stacked  arms  and  voted 
unanimously  to  disband.  The  governor  was  notified  and  the  guns 
and  entire  equipment  returned  to  Madison.  This  ended  the  Hiber- 
nian Guards  of  Fond  du  Lac,  after  an  existence  of  something  more 
than  two  years.  The  company  was  under  command  of  very  com- 
petent officers  and  was  well  drilled.  The  uniform  was  quite  showy 
and  they  made  a  most  handsome  appearance  on  the  street.  The  war 
came  along  after  the  disbanding  and  it  was  found  by  examination 
of  the  muster  roll,  that  nearly  all  the  members  became  soldiers  in 
other  companies.  The  war  gave  the  people  enough  of  military  duty 
and  experience  and  there  has  not  since  been  that  desire  for  independ- 
ent military  companies  that  existed  before. 

It  is  proper  to  state  here  that  Mr.  Lefferts  contended  that  he 
did  not  make  the  statement  a^  charged,  but  what  he  did  say  was  that 
there  were  enough  active  young  men  in  this  country  to  put  down 
this  trouble  inside  of  ninety  days,  and  made  no  allusion  to  Irishmen 
or  foreigners. 

Fond  du  Lac  in  the  War. 

It  is  doubtful  if  there  was  a  county  in  the  state  that  showed 
more  patriotism  and  showed  it  more  promptly  than  Fond  du  Lac. 
On  that  bright  April  morning  of  1861,  when  the  news  flashed  over 
the  wires  that  Fort  Sumter  had  been  fired  upon,  Fond  du  Lac  people 
were  fully  aroused.  There  was  no  daily  paper  here  then,  but  so 
eager  were  we  for  news  that  at  noon  of  each  day  A.  T.  Glaze  printed 
a  dodger  at  Beeson's  Job  Office,  containing  the  telegrams  obtainable, 
and  about  two  hundred  of  these  were  quickly  sold  at  five  cents  each. 
Captain,  afterwards  General  Hamilton,  was  sure  to  be  on  hand  to 
get  one  of  the  first  copies.  When  the  call  for  troops  was  issued, 
Co.  I,  First  Wisconsin,  was  filled  to  the  maximum  in  less  than  two 
days,  and  the  names  on  the  muster  roll  were  from  Fond  du  Lac's 
brightest  young  business  men.  It  was  thought  at  Washington  that 
"it  would  not  be  much  of  a  shower"  and  the  call  was  for  three  months' 


8  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

service.  Then  came  the  enlistment  for  three  years  or  during  the  war 
and  nearly  all  of  the  Co.  I  boys  put  their  names  to  this  roll,  but  they 
were  now  Co.  K.  Capt.  J.  V.  McCall  had  good  reasons  to  be  proud 
of  his  boys. 

Capt.  E.  S.  Bragg  and  First  Lieutenant  E.  A.  Brown  organized 
Co.  E  of  the  6th  Wisconsin.  The  company  was  enlisted  for  the  2d 
Regiment  but  was  assigned  to  the  Sixth  and  Col.  Lysander  Cutler 
took  a  splendid  body  of  men  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Capt. 
Bragg  was  rapidly  promoted  and  became  the  general  in  command 
of  the  renowned  Iron  Brigade,  composed  of  the  6th  and  7th  Wiscon- 
sin, 19th  Indiana  and  24th  Michigan.  Capt.  Brown  was  killed  at 
Antietam,  and  disease  thinned  the  ranks.  Col.  J.  A.  Watrous  came 
to  the  company  from  Appleton.  It  was  a  sorry  scene  that  September 
evening  at  dusk,  as  the  funeral  procession  of  Capt.  Brown  slowly 
moved  through  Main  street  to  the  Pier  cemetery. 

Col.  D.  E.  Wood,  Surgeon  W.  H.  Walker  and  Chaplain  J.  B. 
■Rogers  were  Fond  du  Lac  men.  Co.  A,  Capt.  Lyman  ]\I.  Ward,  was 
mostly  recruited  here.  There  were  some  Fond  du  Lac  men  in  other 
companies  of  this  regiment,  but  the  names  are  not  now  obtainable. 
Col.  Wood  cam.e  home  sick  and  died  at  home,  early  in  the  war,  and 
Capt.  Ward  became  the  colonel. 

Lieutenant,  afterwards  Captain  Martin  Curran,  took  a  goodly 
number  of  Fond  du  Lac  men  to  Milwaukee  to  join  the  17th  or  Irish 
regiment.  Col.  John  L.  Doran. 

First  Lieut.  Edward  Colman  became  Colonel  of  the  i8th  Regi- 
ment and  former  Lieut.   Governor   Beall,  was   Lieut.   Colonel. 

The  2ist  was  a  grand  regiment,  all  of  the  men  from  this 
part  of  the  state  and  in  its  ranks  were  many  Fond  du  Lac  county 
men.  Capt.  Alex  White,  Co.  A,  Capt.  Edgar  Conklin,  Co.  F,  Capt. 
George  Bentley,  Co.  H  and  their  Lieutenants,  Milt.  Ewen,  Fred  L. 
Clark  and  T.  F.  Strong,  Jr.,  together  with  Ed.  Delany,  of  Co.  I,  and 
Surgeon  S.  J.  Carolin,  were  all  Fond  du  Lac  men. 

The  32d  Regiment  was  one  of  the  grandest  that  left  the  state. 
Capt.  C.  H.  DeGroat,  Co.  A,  afterwards  Colonel,  W.  R.  Hodges,  Co. 
B,  and  Capt.  W.  S.  Burrows,  Co.  H,  and  Lieutenants  Thos.  Bryant 
and  J.  K.  Pompelly,  were  all  Fond  du  Lac  men.  Captains  G.  G. 
Woodruff  and  M.  B.  Pierce  were  from  Waupun.  This  regiment  made 
a  grand  record  at  Memphis,  before  Atlanta  and  in  Sherman's  mem- 
orable "march  to  the  sea."  Their  long  march  ended  in  the  streets 
of  Washington. 

Col.  C.  K.  Pier  was  transferred  from  the  First  and  given  com- 
mand of  the  38th  Regiment,  which  did  some  rough  work  near  Rich- 
mond, where  Col.   Pier  was  seriously  wounded. 

In  the  skeleton  infantry  regiments  which  followed  to  the  end  of 
the  war,  were  many  Fond  du  Lac  men. 

The  1st  Cavalry  was  organized  at  Ripon  by  Prof.  Ed.  Daniels 
and  O.  H.  La  Grange.  It  camped  on  the  college  campus,  but  the 
feet  of  the  horses  so  cut  the  ground  that  it  required  three  or  four 
years  to  get  it  smooth  again.  Col.  Daniels  had  to  quit  the  regiment 
on  account  of  poor  health  and  Col.  La  Grange  was  in  command  to 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  9 

the  end  of  the  war.  Maj.  H.  S.  Eggleston,  of  Ripon,  died  of  disease, 
but  Maj.  H.  S.  Town  survived  the  war  and  aied  in  1897.  Capt.  Hugh 
La  Grange  died  of  disease  before  the  close  of  the  war.  Col.  N. 
Boardman  belonged  to  the  Second  Cavalry. 

The  Fourth  Infantry  was  reorganized  for  the  cavalry  service, 
and  among  its  members  was  the  late  Capt.  Elihu  Colman. 

The  Third  Wisconsin  Battery  had  its  origin  at  Ripon.  Lu.  H. 
Drury,  the  well  known  editor,  was  the  Captain.  This  battery 
changed  its  light  guns  for  four  thirty-two-pounders,  with  ten  horses 
each,  and  did  tremendous  work  in  several  battles.  Capt.  Drury  was 
shot  through  the  lungs  before  Atlanta,  but  recovered. 

When  seven  batteries  were  called  for  from  this  state,  in  1862, 
Alex.  White's  Co.  A,  of  the  Twenty-first  Regiment,  was  recruited 
for  one  of  them,  but  failed  to  get  ready  in  time  and  went  into  the 
infantry.  • 

The  draft  of  1863  did  not  strike  Fond  du  Lac  hard,  as  the  quota 
of  men  had  been  provided  for.  A  few  towns  were  struck  pretty  hard. 
In  the  draft  of  1864,  the  same  towns  were  struck,  but  in  the  last 
draft,  in  1865,  just  before  the  close  of  the  war,  the  wheel  did  not  turn 
in  this  county  at  all.  A  few  years  after  the  war  some  very  foolish 
falsehoods  gained  currency  about  the  drafts  and  other  events,  and 
some  of  them  found  their  way  into  an  alleged  history  of  the  county. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  any  of  these  stories  got  into  print.  Should 
the  reader  find  one  of  them,  let  him  reflect  that  it  is  a  lie,  told  long 
after  the  alleged  occurrence. 

The  amount  of  money  paid  by  private  parties  for  substitutes, 
could  only  be  guessed  at,  but  there  w^ere  many  of  them  and  it  must 
have  been  large  in  the  total.  The  estimate  was  that  the  city  paid 
about  $100,000  in  bounties.  The  city  paid  $30,000  at  one  time.  Some 
of  these  bounty  soldiers  ran  away  from  service,  but  the  number  that 
deserted  was  but  a  small  fraction  of  the  number  that  has  been 
stated  to  be  bounty  jumpers.  Many  men  were  enlisted  in  Fond  du 
Lac,  Ripon  and  Waupun  by  men  who  aspired  to  commands,  and 
taken  to  other  places,  some  of  them  out  of  the  state.  These  we  often 
got  no  credit  for  on  our  quotas. 

Capt.  Charles  S.  Hamilton  was  an  old  time  resident  of  Fond  du 
Lac,  coming  here  in  1849.  He  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point  and  a 
Mexican  war  veteran.  As  Colonel  he  took  the  Third  Wisconsin  to 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  but  was  soon  promoted  to  command  of  a 
brigade  in  the  western  army.  Other  well  known  Fond  du  Lac  men 
in  the  army  were  Gen.  Roswell  M.  Sawyer,  Surgeon  H.  M.  Lilly,  Capt. 
J.  V.  Frost,  Col.  Bertine  Pinkney,  Surgeon  H.  L.  Barnes,  Capt.  Thos. 
H.  Green,  Capt.  Thos.  Bryant,  Capt.  W.  S.  Burrows,  Capt.  J.  A. 
Watrous,  Capt.  Hiram  K.  Edwards,  Col.  Delos  A.  Ward,  Capt.  Milt. 
Ewen,  Capt.  L.  H.  D.  Crane,  Col.  Geo.  W.  Carter,  Surgeon  W.  H. 
Walker,  Surgeon  D.  A.  Raymond,  Capt.  J-  O.  Ackerman,  Capt.  C.  H. 
Benton,  Capt.  Geo.  E.  Sutherland,  Capt.  Michael  Mangan,  Maj.  A. 
E.  Bovay  and  Maj.  K.  M.  Adams. 

In  this  list  of  commissioned  officers  should  be  the  Lieutenants, 
but  the  names  of  many  of  them  are  among  the  things  forever  lost 


10 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


by  lapse  of  time.  Besides  these,  Fond  du  Lac  county  had  in  the 
ranks  as  private  soldiers,  more  than  two  thousand  of  as  brave  men 
as  ever  shouldered  a  musket  or  swapped  tobacco,  whiskey  or  bacon 
with  a  Johnnie  on  the  picket  line. 

Fond  du  Lac  Guards. 

In  late  years  so  well  known  as  Co.  E,  had  its  origin  at  a  meeting 
held  at  the  law  ofifice  of  Geo.  E.  Sutherland,  on  Forest  street,  on  the 
evening  of  March  25,  1880.  Notice  of  the  meeting  was  published  in 
the  Daily  Commonwealth  on  that  day,  and  pursuant  to  the  notice, 
twenty-foiir  men  assembled  in  the  evening  to  organize  a  military 
company  as  a  part  of  the  Wisconsin  National  Guard.  The  following 
named  men  signed  the  roll : 


A.  W.  Starr. 
J.   E.   Sullivan. 
Frank  A.  Flower. 
Sumner  L.  Brasted. 
George  S.  Burrows, 
E.    M.    Moore. 


Frank  Wallace. 
J.  C.  Kenneally. 
Ed.  Foulkes. 
J.  D.  Radford. 
A.  F.  Starr. 
F.  S.  Wiley. 


J.  C.  Murphy. 

A.    H.   Rottmeyer. 

C.  M.  Cooley. 

J.  R.  Libbey. 

A.  D.  Estabrooks. 

J.  B.  Gibson. 


E.   A.  Hanks. 
J.  J.  Kunze. 
J.  L.   Martin. 
J.  H.  Morse. 
C.   L.   Handt. 
M.  L.  Normile. 


After  appointing  a  recruiting  committee,  the  meeting  was  ad- 
journed one  week,  to  meet  at  the  council  rooms.  April  ist  the  mert 
met  and  the  following  names  were  added  to  the  roll : 


A.  A.  Kelly 
J.  Q.  Haas. 
F.   A.   Dawes. 
J.  E.  Kent. 
Jolin  E.  Waters. 
C.  J.  Hunter. 
Waldo   Sweet. 


Fred.  Eycleshimer.      E.  A.  Galloway. 


Lamont    Hunter. 
Otto    Fetters.    . 
W.  H.  Shattuck. 
Lester  Noble. 
F.  A.  Brasted. 


P.  B.  Haber 
C.  R.  Boardman. 
E.   T.   Tallmadge. 
H.   T.   Sackett. 
Frank  Sweet. 


Richard  Furcell. 
John  Rogers. 
E.  A.  Little. 
C.  A.  Erhart. 
Harrison  Fade. 
Fred   French. 


Governor  Smith  having  been  applied  to  for  a  mustering  officer 
to  muster  the  company  into  the  Wisconsin  National  Guard,  notice 
was  received  that  Jerome  A.  Watrous,  of  the  governor's  stafif,  had 
been  appointed.  At  the  meeting  of  April  7,  the  following  additional 
members  signed  the  roll : 


C.  E.  Dickinson. 
H.  R.  Potter. 
J.  C.  Hanson. 
O.   C.  Davis. 


R.  H.  O'Meara. 
Geo.  B.  Sweet. 
E.  A.  Adams. 
John  Hamilton. 


.John  Magnussen 
W.  T.  Treleven. 
C.  T.  Galland. 


F.   S.  Lippett. 
E.  A.  Lang. 
W.  H.  Olmsted. 


The  ten  days'  notice  having  been  given  by  publication,  the 
mustering  officer  met  the  coiupany  on  April  21,  but  it  was  found  that 
the  company  was  two  men  short  of  the  required  minimum  of  sixty- 
five  men,  and  an  adjournment  of  twenty  minutes  was  taken  and  the 
following  named  men  signed  the  roll,  bringing  it  to  a  total  of  sixty- 
eight  : 

R.  M.  Wilson.  F.  F.  Duffy. 

H.  W.  Wilkner.  T.  H.  Shepard. 

Joseph   Carberry. 

The  company  having  complied  with  all  the  requirements  of  law,, 
was.  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  state  April  21,  1880.  The  men 
were  evidently  very  fond  of  band  music,  for  on  May  5,  they  incurred 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  H 

a  debt  of  $57.00,  and  in  August  $40  more,  but  the  soldiers  and  sailors' 
reunion,  at  Milwaukee,  donated  $100  to  the  company,  which  helped 
it  out  of  debt  for  music.  All  through  its  early  life  the  company  had 
ups  and  downs  of  all  sorts  as  all  new  organizations  do.  It  required 
administrative  power  of  a  high  order  to  keep  the  company  on  its 
feet.  Jealousy  crept  in,  of  course,  and  some  of  the  men  were  constant 
breeders  of  discord.  But  Capt.  Brasted  was  a  man  of  force  and  kept 
trouble  at  the  lowest  point. 

After  the  company  had  been  mustered  in,  the  following  commis- 
sioned officers  were  elected : 

Captain — Sumner  L.  Brasted. 

First  Lieutenant — John  C.  Kenneally. 

Second  Lieutenant — Charles  J.  Hunter. 

Commissioned  Officers- 
Following  have  been  the  commissioned  officers  of  Co.  E  from 
the  organization  of  the  company  to  the  present  time : 

Captain  S.  L.  Brasted,  commissioned  Captain  April  7,  1880; 
Colonel  May  21,  1883.     Died  1886. 

Captain  C.  J.  Hunter,  commissioned  Captain  August  i,  1883, 
promoted  to  Major  February  24,  1892. 

Captain  E.  T.  Markle,  commissioned  Captain  April  5,  1892,  Com- 
missary of  Subsistence  with  same  rank,  July  5,  1899. 

Captain  Emil  C.  Plonsky,  commissioned  Captain  December  2, 
1899.     Resigned  October  30,   1904. 

Captain  Wm.  J.  Seeve,  commissioned  Captain  December  2,  1904. 

First  Lieutenant  John  C.  Kenneally,  commissioned  April  7,  1880, 
promoted  to  Quartermaster  February  18,  1881. 

C.  J.  Hunter,  commissioned  Second  Lieutenant  April  9,  1880, 
and  First  Lieutenant  March  18,  1881. 

C.  E.  Dickinson,  commissioned  Second  Lieutenant  March  18, 
1881.     Resigned  April  7.  1882. 

J.  D.  Radford,  commissioned .  First  Lieutenant  June  2,  1882. 
Resigned  March  13,  1883. 

A.  A.  Kelly,  commissioned  Second  Lieutenant  June  2,  1882,  First 
Lieutenant  March  30,  1883,  Major  August  30,  1883,  Lieutenant 
Colonel  February  8,  1886.  Resigned  Februar}-  23,  1892.  Died 
July  4,  1897. 

Edward    Foulkes,    commissioned    Second    Lieutenant    March    30, 

1883.  promoted  to  Adjutant  with  rank  of  Captain  April  15,  1885. 
Resigned  February  8,  1887. 

Otto  H.  Fetters,  commissioned  First  Lieutenant  July  30,  1883. 
Resigned  March  17,  1884. 

James  M.  Moore,  commissioned  Second  Lieutenant  July  30,  1883. 
Resigned  January  28,  1884. 

G.    H.    McNeel,    commissioned    Second    Lieutenant    January    24, 

1884.  Inspector  Rifle  Practice  April  30,  1884. 

Geo.  S.  Burrows,  commissioned  Second  Lieutenant  March  2y, 
1884.    Resigned  April  26,  1885. 


12  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

E.  T.  IMarkle,  commissioned  Second  Lieutenant  June  ii,  1885, 
First  Lieutenant  May  i,  1887. 

S.  H.  Longdin,  commissioned  First  Lieutenant  Alay  5,  1892, 
Battalion  Adjutant  February  5,  1892. 

L.  H.  Gillet,  commissioned  Second  Lieutenant  May  i,  1887.  Re- 
signed November  i,  1889. 

Otto  A.  Abel,  commissioned  Second  Lieutenant  November  14, 
1889.     Resigned  April  6,  1892. 

Chas.  H.  Tripp,  commissioned  Second  Lieutenant  April  5,  1892, 
First  Lieutenant  December   15,   1895.     Resigned  December   14,   1898. 

E.  C.  Plonsky,  commissioned  Second  Lieutenant  December  15, 
1895,  Captain  November  30,  1898.     Resigned  October  18,  1904. 

J.  F.  Dittmar,  commissioned  Second  Lieutenant  December  10, 
1898.     Resigned  July  i,  1900. 

W.  F.  Bruett,  commissioned  Second  Lieutenant  July  2t„  1900. 
Resigned  September  28,  1904. 

A.  R.   Brunet,  commissioned    Second    Lieutenant    December    7, 

1904- 

A.  H.  Trier,  commissioned  First  Lieutenant  December  7,   1904. 

Wm.  J.  Seeve,  commissioned  First  Lieutenant  December  10, 
1898,  Captain  December  2,  1904. 

The  officers  serving  the  company  at  the  present  time  are : 

Captain — Wm.  J.  Seeve. 

First  Lieutenant — Adolph  M.  Trier. 

Second  Lieutenant — Adelbert  R.  Brunet. 

In  the  war  of  the  rebellion  and  in  infantry  formation  in  the  field 
of  which  we  have  knowledge  until  1889,  a  regiment  consisted  always 
of  ten  companies  of  one  hundred  men  each.  In  1889  the  German- 
French  system  was  adopted  for  the  National  Guard  in  Wisconsin. 
This  system  increased  the  number  of  companies  to  twelve,  divided 
into  three  battalions  of  four  companies  each  and  a  major  in  command 
of  each  battalion.  This  system  is  much  more  efficient,  and  it  is  said 
by  experts  that  it  enables  the  officers  to  handle  the  men  more  effect- 
ively. The  old  Spanish  officers  in  the  Spanish-American  war  could 
not  understand  how  the  American  troops  were  hurled  upon  them 
so  rapidly  and  with  such  effective  results.  They  found  out  later  on. 
Previous  to  1889  the  Wisconsin  National  Guard  had  the  old  regi- 
mental formations  of  ten  companies  each,  with  a  Colonel,  Lieutenant 
Colonel  and  one  Major,  but  they  readily  took  to  the  new  formation 
and  drill  and  today  are  said  by  experts  to  be  the  equal  of  any  troops 
in  the  country. 

In  1882  the  state  fair  was  held  at  Fond  du  Lac,  and  the  last  day 
of  the  fair  the  Guards  made  a  fine  appearance  in  neat  and  new  uni- 
forms. Governor  Smith  was  present  and  made  a  speech  to  the  boys 
highly  com])limentary  of  their  appearance  and  conduct.  With  full 
ranks  and  new  uniforms  they  did  look  very  nice. 

In  July,  1883,  the  regiment  was  formed  and  the  boys  had  their 
first  camp  at  Oshkosh.  Here  it  was  that  the  old  name  of  Fond  du 
Lac   Guards   was   dropped   and   the   company   to   be   since   known   as 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  13 

Company  E.  In  forming  the  regimental  line,  this  company  was  as- 
signed to  that  place,  and  it  has  since  been  known  by  that  name. 

From  the  start  the  company  has  been  very  fortunate  in  having 
in  its  ranks  young  men  who  took  readily  to  military  drill  and  had 
pride  in  the  work,  hence  the  company  always  showed  well  in  public 
and  brought  out  good  figures  at  inspections.  The  captains  have 
been  men  of  high  character  and  great  zeal  and  determination  in 
bringing  the  command  to  the  highest  degree  of  proficiency.  From 
the  beginning  the  company  has  always  been  more  or  less  handi- 
capped by  the  loss  of  well  drilled,  active  young  men  from  the  ranks 
by  removals  from  the  city,  deaths  and  expiration  of  enlistment,  yet 
at  the  inspections  the  company  did  not  lose  its  standing.  The  skill 
and  efficiency  of  the  company  officers,  soon  brings  new  recruits  to 
the  required  proficiency. 

The  drill  of  military  companies  is  not  all  for  show  in  street 
parades  in  pretty  uniforms.  There  may  be  troubles,  as  in  the  labor 
riots  at  Milwaukee  and  the  military  may  be  needed,  and  there  may 
be  war  in  which  our  border  may  need  protection.  Few  people  realize 
the  value  of  military  drill  in  the  development  of  the  physical  powers 
of  young  men.  Especially  since  the  adoption  of  the  setting  up  drill 
or  exercises,  has  there  been  great  development  of  the  powers  of  the 
athlete  and  physical  powers  generally. 

In  the  year  1886,  there  were  three  of  the  marked  events  in  the 
early  life  of  the  company.  On  February  8,  an  order  was  issued  for 
every  man  and  officer  to  appear  at  the  armory  February  10,  at  12:45, 
in  full  dress  uniform  to  attend  the  funeral  of  Col.  S.  L.  Brasted,  and 
every  man  and  officer  was  present  prompt  to  the  minute. 

On  May  5,  1886,  came  an  order  from  Governor  Rusk  for  every 
man  to  appear  for  duty  at  once  and  be  in  readiness  to  march  at  an 
hour's  notice  to  aid  in  the  suppression  of  the  Milwaukee  riot.  The 
men  were  at  the  armory  as  ordered  and  were  held  until  midnight, 
when  a  detail  was  made  to  give  notice  if  needed.  Next  day  notice 
was  given  that  their  services  would  not  be  needed.  Subsequently 
Col.  Patton  in  general  orders  thanked  the  company  for  its  prompt- 
ness and  soldierly  conduct. 

In  September  the  company  had  its  first  inspection  at  the  hands 
of  an  officer  of  the  state  outside  the  company's  own  commanders. 
This  inspection  was  made  by  Adjutant  General  Chapman,  and  was 
mostly  in  evolutions  in  marching.  Even  at  this  early  day  the  boys 
were  complimented.  In  1895  the  company  won  its  position  at  the 
head  of  the  Wisconsin  National  Guard,  which  it  has  continued  to 
hold  until  1905,  excepting  two  years,  when  it  lost  by  small  fractions 
of  a  point.  The  inspections  were  mostly  made  by  Gen.  King,  a  West 
Pointer  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  exacting  officers  in  the  service. 
The  work  of  the  company  has  been  very  successful  from  the  begin- 
ning. •         ' 

At  the  competitive  drills  at  St.  Louis  in  1900,  Co.  E  was  awarded 
first  place  and  won  a  prize  of  $700.  At  the  same  place  in  1904,  the 
exhibition  drills  gave  Co.  E  almost  a  world-wide  notoriety.  All  of 
the  drills  of  Co.  E,  competition  or  exhibition,  were  passed  upon  by 


14  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

high  grade  U.  S.  Army  officers.  In  this  year  of  1905,  the  company 
is  twenty-five  years  old  and  has  always  ranked  high.  Today  the 
muster  roll  numbers  sixty-four  men  and  the  compan}'  has  never  been 
short  but  has  often  had  more  applications  for  membership  than  was 
needed. 

When  the  company  was  organized  the  Helmer  Hall,  on  Fourth 
street,  was  rented  for  a  drill  room,  but  in  1888  the  Watke-  skating 
rink,  on  Second  street,  was  purchased  for  $2,700,  and  the  present 
armory  is  the  result.  The  improvements  made  by  the  company  from 
time  to  time,  at  a  cost  of  something  over  $5,000,  has  resulted  in  one 
of  the  best  armories  in  the  state.  The  title  of  the  property  is  in  the 
name  of  the  company  and  the  boys  are  proud  of  it. 

In  the  Spanish-American  war,  Co.  E  left  home  April  28,  1898, 
to  join  the  other  companies  of  the  Second  Regiment  in  camp  at  Mil- 
waukee. They  broke  camp  and  left  the  state  May  15,  1898.  They 
were  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  nine  weeks,  and  at  Charleston,  S.  C, 
thirteen  days,  when  they  took  transport  for  Ponce.  Porto  Rico.  They 
left  Ponce  September  ist  and  arrived  home  September  9th.  While 
in  Porto  Rico  the  boys  had  a  brush  with  the  enemy  at  Coamo.  Dur- 
ing the  absence  of  the  company  Arthur  McCourt  died  of  disease  and 
was  the  only  death  from  the  ranks. 

The  Co.  E  Athletic  Association  is  an  organization  which  shows 
something  of  the  sort  of  men  connected  with  the  company.  While 
this  association  has  no  part  in  the  military  work,  all  members  of  it 
must  be  members  of  Co.  E.  Organized  in  1897  for  company  and 
personal  amusement  and  benefit,  it  at  once  took  high  rank  in  the 
athletics  of  the  city.  In  basket  ball  it  acquired  a  state  and  even 
national  reputation.  The  team  was  held  in  readiness  to  play  any 
team  in  the  United  States,  and  did  play  many  of  the  strongest,  east 
and  west.  While  Yale  held  the  eastern  basket  ball  championship  in 
1899,  Co.  E  was  anxious  to  meet  Yale  and  expended  $1,000  to  get 
that  team  to  the  west,  only  to  send  it  back  with  bowed  heads.  In 
1899  and  1900,  Co.  E  achieved  the  wonderful  results  of  winning  32 
of  the  36  championship  games  played.  The  team  which  brought 
these  surprising  results  was  under  excellent  management  and  the 
men  gentlemen.  Following  are  the  names  of  the  men  in  the  team 
and  their  positions : 

Wm.  F.  Bruett,  Center. 

J.  L.  Rogers,  Forward. 

August  Buch,   Back. 

Adelbert  r^nmet.   Wnrk. 

Albert  Brunkhorst,  Forward. 

Max  Severin,  Substitute. 

Carl  H.  Brugger,  Manager. 

Eugene  Bartlett,  Trainer. 


Robert  Jenkinson  was  elected  Sheriff  in  1852  and  County  Treas-- 
urer  in  1854,  but  died  in  a  few  weeks  after  assuming  the  duties  of 
the  latter  office,  and  W.  H.  Hiner  served  the  balance  of  the  term. 


FOUNTAINS  AND  WATER  WORKS 


Discovery  of  Artesian  Wells   From   Which  We   Get  the   Name   of 

"Fountain     City."       First     Ones 

Drilled  Here. 


From  the  earliest  settlement  of  Fond  du  Lac  until  1849,  water 
for  household  and  general  purposes,  was  obtained  as  in  most  new- 
countries,  by  digging  wells.  A  man  named  Curtis,  a  practical  well 
driller  from  the  east,  came  here  from  Sheboygan  with  his  outfit,  and 
as  J.  C.  Lewis  and  R.  L.  Morris  were  building  the  old  Badger  Hotel, 
corner  of  Main  street  and  Western  avenue,  they  employed  Mr.  Curtis 
to  drill  a  well  there.  When  the  hole  had  reached  a  depth  of  eighty 
feet,  all  hands  were  discouraged,  as  a  sufficient  supply  of  water  for 
even  a  small  hotel  had  not  been  struck.  But  it  was  resolved  to  sfo  a 
little  deeper  and  in  a  few  hours  water  gushed  out  of  the  top  of  the 
hole  in  such  quantity  as  to  overflow  the  surroundings  and  a  ditch 
had  to  be  dug  to  the  Bissell  sawmill  race  to  carry  away  the  surplus. 

Here  was  the  first  of  the  celebrated  Fond  du  Lac  fountains, 
which  gave  us  the  title  of  "Fountain  City."  The  next  one  sunk  was 
at  the  home  of  George  ]\IcWilliams,  where  the  malt  house  now 
stands.  It  overflowed  into  the  river  and  was  for  many  years  one  of 
the  most  noted  fountains  in  the  city.  Specimens  of  the  water  from  it 
were  sent  to  Chicago  for  analysis  and  was  found  to  contain  "valuable 
medicinal  qualities,"  but  it  was  never  utilized  as  a  health  resort.  It 
was  nearly  one  hundred  feet  deep.  The  third  fountain  in  Fond  du 
Lac  was  sunk  at  Phinney's  livery  barn,  located  about  where  the  gas 
holders  of  the  gas  works  are  now.  This  fountain  was  but  about 
seventy  feet  deep,  yet  the  water  rose  nearly  four  feet  above  the 
ground  and  discharged  its  surplus  into  the  ravine. 

John  Sealy  then  went  into  the  business  and  fountains  went  down 
rapidly  all  over  the  city.  It  was  in  1853  that  what  was  known  for 
years  as  "the  big  fountain,"  was  struck  at  the  corner  of  Marr  and 
Sixth  streets.  The  water  rose  more  than  two  feet  above  the  ground 
and  the  stream  was  nearly  the  full  size  of  the  bore.  It  was  fortunate 
that  the  ravine  was  near  for  the  overflow.  There  has  not  been  a  drop 
of  water  from  it  in  many  years.  The  next  big  fountain  was  at  the  resi- 
dence of  Mr.  Follette,  on  Follette  street,  now  the  home  of  Mrs.  D. 
Babcock.  The  overflow  swamped  all  the  low  places  north  of  Arndt 
street,  and  the  old  Cotton  street  school  house  stood  in  a  pond.  It 
was  necessary  to  carry  the  surplus  water  so  far  that  it  was  difficult 
to  get  rid  of  it.  In  the  winter  when  the  drain  was  frozen,  it  gave  the 
boys  a  beautiful  skating  park  north  of  Arndt  street.  After  a  few 
years,  however,  it  ceased  to  give  trouble. 

Next  came  the  era  of  the  deep  fountains.     Heretofore  the  depth 


16  ■  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

was  60  to  120  feet,  but  now  they  went  down  230  to  250  feet.  The 
first  one  of  these  was  sunk  by  Mr.  Wild,  at  his  bakery  and  candy 
factory,  on  East  First  street,  and  was  256  feet  deep.  It  was  the 
belief  that  if  the  bore  reached  to  the  sandstone  strata,  the  water 
would  be  comparatively  soft,  instead  of  being  loaded  with  lime.  The 
object  of  Mr.  Wild  was  to  obtain  soft  water  for  use  in  the  bakery, 
but  he  did  not  fully  succeed.  The  water  is"  better  but  is  not  like  rain 
water,  by  any  means. 

Dr.  Bishop  and  Father  Taugher  put  down  a  fountain  somewhat 
later,  and  at  a  depth  of  256  feet  secured  a  splendid  flow  of  water  which 
continued  a  few  years  and  has  since  been  pumped.  Since  the  advent 
of  the  deep  wells,  the  shallow  ones  of  former  years  are  impractical, 
as  pumping  from  them  brings  surface  water  only.  It  is  therefore 
manifest  that  the  water  supply  or  head  has  been  exhausted.  The 
well  at  the  laundry  on  East  First  street,  sunk  two  years  ago  by 
Thomas  Dobyns  for  X.  R.  Heath,  is  286  feet  deep  but  does  not  flow, 
yet  yields  an  abundant  supply  of  water  by  pumping. 

Now  conies  the  era  of  the  water  works  which  requires  such  a 
vast  amount  of  water,  but  it  is  feared  by  some  that  the  head  of  the 
deep  wells  will  eventually  be  exhausted  atid  Fond  du  Lac  will  be 
compelled  to  depend  upon  Lake  Winnebago  for  its  water  supply.  It 
is  well,  however,  not  to  borrow  trouble  but  wait  in  patience  and  hope 
for  better  results.  But  should  this  time  come  the  lake  will  give  us  a 
better  supply  than  many  cities  have. 

The  Fond  du  Lac  AA^ater  Company  received  its  franchise  from 
the  city  of  Fond  du  Lac  in  1885.  The  original  owners  were  Messrs. 
T.  F.  Flaggler,  H.  H.  Flaggler,  G.  A.  Gaskill  and  P.  H.  Linneen.  The 
company  now  has  seven  wells.  The  shallowest  of  them  is  475  feet 
in  depth,  and  the  deepest  is  1,103  ^^^^  in  depth.  The  remaining  five 
of  said  wells  have  an  average  depth  of  750  feet.  Four  of  the  wells 
are  six  inches  in  diameter.  One  is  eight  inches  in  diameter,  and  two 
of  them  are  ten  inches  in  diameter.  The  last  one  was  drilled  in  1900. 
The  general  pressure  for  domestic  purposes  is-  30  to  35  pounds  per 
square  inch.  Fire  pressure  is  from  90  to  100  pounds  per  square  inch, 
dependent  upon  the  locality  of  the  fire,  although  the  pressure  can 
readily  be  run  up,  if  required,  to  150  pounds  per  square  inch  and  over. 
When  the  pressure  in  the  central  part  of  the  city  is  100  pounds,  or 
over,  it  is  very  apt  to  burst  the  hose,  and  make  the  hose  almost  un- 
manageable. The  first  superintendent  of  the  plant  was  Mr.  Frank 
Barnes.  He  was  superintendent  during  its  construction  in  1885. 
His  successor  was  Mr.  Fred  Tenbrook.  He  was  superintendent  for 
two  years.  Since  Mr.  Tenbrook  ceased  to  be  superintendent,  Mr. 
William  Masson  has  continuously  occupied  that  position.  Mr. 
Masson  has  been  connected  with  the  company  since  the  beginning, 
having  been  employed  as  a  mechanical  assistant  in  installing  the 
engines  in  the  plant  of  the  company  at  the  pumping  station. 

Two  low  pressure  engines  of  large  capacity  do  the  pumping  at 
the  water  works.  They  are  perfect  in  construction  and  as  handsome 
pieces  of  machinery  as  this  city  ever  had.     But  one  of  the  engines  is 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  17 

run  at  a  time,  so  that  if  there  is  a  breakdown  or  need  for  help  the  other 
one  can  immediately  be  brought  into  use. 

That  the  water  should  be  the  best  possible,  it  is  provided  in  the 
franchise  that  all  water  above  the  sandstone  shall  be  packed  out  of 
reach  of  the  pumps  with  seed-bags.  This  was  done  and  probablv 
three  better  men  than  the  men  appointed  to  superintend  this  work, 
Col.  James  Ewen.  ex-Aiayor  John  Nichols  and  AV.  M.  Phalen,  could 
not  be  found  in  the  wdiole  city  to  guard  the  interests  of  the  people. 
They  watched  closely  every  move.  It  is  generally  conceded  by  those 
who  know  about  such  things,  that  there  is  not  a  water  system  in  the 
whole  state  that  has  given  less  cause  for  complaint  than  has  ours. 

The  fairly  well  remembered  Hunter  Magnetic  Fountain,  was 
quite  a  noted  place  for  a  few  years,  but  it  long  since  passed  away 
and  today  the  exact  location  of  it  is  unknown  and  cannot  be  found. 
In  1872  George  Hunter  built  a  paper  mill  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
river  about  thirty  rods  south  of  Scott  street  bridge.  For.  this  mill 
Mr.  Hunter  needed  a  good  supply  of  pure  water  and  a  fountain  was 
decided  upon.  When  the  bore  had  reached  a  depth  of  about  120  feet  a 
powerful  stream  was  struck  and  it  was  soon  found  that  some  of  the 
tools  were  magnetized.  Rev.  Dr.  Barry,  a  somewhat  noted  scientist, 
examined  it  and  declared  it  the  strongest  magnetic  spring  of  which 
he  had  any  knowledge.  A  moderate  sized  screw  driver  immersed  in 
the  water  a  short  time,  would  lift  a  tenpenny  nail.  The  fame  of  this 
fountain  spread  and  people  came  with  jugs  and  kegs  for  the  water. 

A  large  bath  house  was  built  and  T.  M.  Bowen,  the  barber,  went 
down  there  to  run  it,  but  after  a  year  or  two  the  bath  house  burned 
and  was  not  rebuilt,  as  it  had  been  found  that  the  water  held  lime  in 
solution  to  the  extent  that  it  was  so  hard  that  soap  could  not  be  used. 
The  bath  rooms  at  no  time  contained  a  cake  of  soap.  Of  course  a 
great  many  people  who  desired  to  use  it  were  disappointed  and  it 
was  a  severe  loss  to  Mr.  Hunter.  The  paper  mill  also  burned  and  the 
fountain  was  left  alone  to  go  into  decay,  which  it  did,  and  noted  as 
it  was,  no  man  today  knows  exactly  where  it  was.  The  late  C.  R. 
Harrison  told  the  writer  he  believed  he  could  find  it,  but  he  did  not 
have  the  opportunity  to  look  for  it.  He  was  so  familiar  with  the  spot 
he  no  doubt  could  have  found  it  if  any  one  could. 

Such  was  the  origin,  progress  and  history  of  Fond  du  Lac's 
noted  artesian  wells  from  the  beginning.  Our  success  with  them 
has  been  phenomenal  and  the  question  now  is,  how  long  will  they 
continue  to  serve  us? 


Caskets  in  Use  But  Few  Years. 

The  caskets  now  seen  at  funerals  have  been  in  use  but  a  few 
years.  Before  they  came  the  flat  and  swell  top  coffins  were  in  general 
use.  The  casket  is  less  repulsive,  hence  was  not  long  in  getting  into 
general  use.  Hie  coffin  is  no  longer  seen  anywhere,  and  it  is  well 
that  it  is  not,  for  nothing  is  more  repulsive  to  humanity. 


18  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Foolish  Forms  of  Speech. 

Is  it  possible  to  give  anything  like  a  sensible  reason  for  some 
methods  of  expressing-  thought?  Is  it  ■  not  foolish  in  the  highest 
degree  to  give  a  sort  of  smooth  double  grunt  when  you  wish  to  say 
yes,  and  a  spasmodic  double  grunt  to  say  no?  This  grunt  expres- 
sion of  yes  and  no  cannot  be  spelled — -they  are  not  words  at  all — 
simply  grunts  that  originated  among  the  negroes.  If  you  wish  the 
repetition  of  something  you  did  not  understand,  is  there  much  sense 
in  the  use  of  a  long  drawn  out  "hay."  And  is  not. the  constant  use 
of  "you  know,"  almost  idiotic?  If  you  catch  yourself  in  this  form 
of  speech,  why  not  drop  it  if  the  person  addressed  really  does  know. 
If  the  person  don't  know,  you  are  asserting  that  which  is  not  true, 
and  if  he  does  know,  where  is  the  sense  in  telling  him  about  it?  It 
is  simply  a  habit  of  speech  and  a  foolish  one.  And  in  the  use  of 
adjectives,  did  you  ever  think  how  foolish  it  is  to  say  "awful  pretty," 
or  "awful  nice."  Our  language  furnishes  much  better  and  far  more 
appropriate  words.  These  are  very  foolish  habits  of  speech  that  we 
drop  into  but  should  stop. 


Ben.  Gilbert  and  His  Cap. 

In  1846  no  matter  how  one  worked,  they  did  not  expect  pay  in 
money,  for  there  wasn't  any  in  the  country.  All  payments  were  in 
trade  and  dicker.  Ben.  Gilbert  earned  seventy-five  cents  and  re- 
ceived an  order  on  Moses  S.  Gibson's  store,  and  bought  a  cap  with 
it.  On  his  way  home  with  the  cap  on  his  head,  a  front  wheel  of  his 
wagon  struck  a  stump  at  Second  street  bridge,  the  yoke  of  young 
oxen  jumped  and  Ben  was  thrown  into  a  mud  hole  anywhere  from 
six  inches  to  two  feet  deep,  head  first.  The  cap  remained  in  the 
mud,  but  Ben  pulled  his  head  and  hands  out,  and  after  getting  his 
hair,  eyes,  face  and  hands  in  usable  condition,  he  fished  out  the  cap 
and  threw  it  into  the  wagon.  At  home  his  mother  washed  it,  but 
the  shine  was  all  gone  and  Ben  was  disconsolate.  He  felt  it  all  the 
more  because  he  needed  and  wanted  the  cap  and  the  price  of  it  was 
the  first  seventy-five  cents  he  ever  earned  away  from  home. 

A.  T.  Glaze  had  a  Russian  Cossack  fur  cap  which  he  bought  of 
a  Jew  on  the  Indian  pay  ground.  Lake  Poygan,  in  1851,  which  did 
not  get  into  a  mud  hole,  but  did  get  into  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Beeson, 
which  was  all  the  worse  for  the  cap,  for  it  was  ripped  and  made  into 
a  collar. 


Passenger  Steamboats  on  the  Lake. 

It  is  only  fifty  years  ago  that  steamboats  carrying  passengers, 
ran  regularly  on  Lake  Winnebago.  Trips  on  them  were  not  espec- 
ially enjoyable,  but  they  furnished  the  easiest  and  best  means  of 
reaching  the  northern  region. 


LUMBER  AND  LUMBERMEN 


The  Making  and  Handling  of  Lumber  in  Fond  du  Lac,  From  the 

Beginning.    The  Mills  and  the  Men  Who  Have  Taken 

Part  in  This  Great  Industry. 


Almost  from  the  day  of  their  arrival,  the  pioneer  settlers  seri- 
ously felt  the  need  of  lumber.  The  shelter  they  were  able  to  provide 
for  their  families  was  made  of  logs,  poles,  brush  and  grass.  Lumber 
was  not  obtainable,  and  for  some  time  after  there  began  to  be  milb 
it  could  not  be  supplied  in  sufficient  quantity  to  meet  the  demand. 
Dr.  Darling,  in  this  as  in  many  other  things,  very  soon  realized  the 
situation,  and  looking  around  for  relief  he  bought  the  then  nearly 
completed  structure  on  the  west  branch  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  river  in 
the  town  of  Fond  du  Lac.  This  mill  was  completed  and  set 
to  work  in  1845,  ^^'^  was  the  first  lumber  cut  here.  The  mill 
was  driven  by  water  power  and  the  output  was  by  no  means  large, 
but  it  was  a  beginning.  Other  small  mills  were  started  at  various 
places  and  in  the  meantime  the  hardy  lumbermen  from  the  east  hav- 
ing penetrated  the  country  from  Green  Bay  westward  to  the  Wolf 
■river,  mills  were  erected  and  lumber  sawed,  a  portion  of  which  found 
its  way  to  Fond  du  Lac  in  rafts  as  early  as  1847.  Col.  James  Ewen 
and  Curt.  Lewis  were  the  pioneers  in  this  rafting  business.  Among 
the  mills  built  here  was  the  Bissell  mill,  a  sash  saw  affair,  built  by 
Wheeler  and  Short,  the  dam  for  which  was  at  Western  Avenue 
bridge  over  the  east  branch  of  the  river,  and  the  mill  was  on  the  land 
now  occupied  by  the  Crofoot  lumber  yard  now  owned  by  Walter 
Wild.  The  mill  was  a  lazy  affair,  but  managed  to  cut  considerable 
lumber  when  there  was  water  enough.  A  frame  was  also  erected 
for  a  flouring  mill  at  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Macy  and  Court 
streets,  where  the  plow  shop  stands,  but  was  never  completed,  and 
after  standing  a  number  of  years  until  it  became  dangerous,  was 
taken  down.  The  Bissell  mill  disappeared  in  1855,  when  the  water 
ceased  to  be  sufficient  to  run  it. 

In  1849  Brand  &  Olcott  established  a  lumber  yard,  and  were 
soon  followed  by  P.  Sawyer,  I.  K.  &  W.  C.  Hamilton  and  others. 
In  the  meantime  sawmills  appeared  with  ample  steam  power  and  the 
lumber  cut  was  sufficient  for  all  purposes.  There  was  now  no  trouble 
in  obtaining  lumber  if  the  settler  had  the  money  to  pay  for  it.  The 
log  houses  and  shanties  began  to  disappear  and  frame  houses  and 
fine  barns  often  graced  the  farms. 

From  1850  onward  there  was  a  steady  increase  in  the  magnitude 
of  lumber  interests  until  the  maximum  was  reached  in  the  ten  years 


20  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

from  1868  to  1878,  at  one  time  during  this  period  there  being  twenty- 
eight  himber  and  shingle  mills  at  Oshkosh  and  twelve  in  Fond  du 
Lac.  The  Wolf  River  Boom  Company  had  its  enormous  works  on 
the  river,  which  included  detaining  booms  between  New  London  and 
Oshkosh  and  the  large  booms,  sorting  and  rafting  works  at  Lake 
Poygan,  near  Winneconne.  Eight  tugs  were  required  to  sort  logs 
and  handle  them  after  they  were  rafted.  Some  of  the  mills  had  a 
capacity  of  more  than  an  even  million  feet  of  Ivimber  a  year,  and  the 
product  was  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 

But  while  all  this  was  taking  place,  the  railroads  were  pushing 
their  lines  into  the  timber  lands  northward,  with  branches  turning 
to  the  right  and  left  into  the  heavy  timber  formerly  reached  by  the 
streams  and  logs  ceased  to  be  floated  downward.  The  mills  now 
began  to  disappear  from  their  old  locations,  being  taken  north  to  the 
timber,  instead  of  the  timber  to  the  mills  as  formerly.  This  continued 
until  in  ten  years  more  nearly  all  the  mills  had  been  moved,  only 
enough  remaining  to  cut  the  local  supply  of  logs.  The  Winneconne 
boom  has  gone  into  ruins  and  work  on  the  river  has  ceased.  The 
logs  are  now  made  into  lumber  in  the  woods  where  cut,  loaded  on 
cars  and  taken  to  market,  saving  much  time  and  expense.  The  situ- 
ation now  is  three  mills  at  Oshkosh  and  one  at  Fond  du  Lac.  There 
is  now  an  ample  supply  of  lumber  at  Fond  du  Lac,  but  it  is  not  cut 
here.  This  is  the  situation  here  after  about  forty  years  of  forest 
slaughter.  There  is  much  timber  yet,  but  railroads  have  made  a 
great  change  of  methods  in  handling  it. 

Dr.  Darling,  Edward  Pier,  John  H.  Martin,  Reuben  Simmons, 
Selim  Newton  and  others  of  the  pioneers,  lived  long  enough  to  see 
the  marked  change  in  the  lumber  supply.  They  saw  the  mills  in- 
crease in  number  and  capacity,  and  the  lumber  supply  become  ample 
for  all  purposes,  but  not  the  subsequent  local  decline.  But  the  local 
decline  did  not  bring  back  the  log  house  and  shanty  experience. 
Could  they  return  and  look  the  field  over,  they  would  doubtless  be 
much  surprised.  Time  works  great  changes  and  business  methods 
are  equally  wonderful  in  results. 

Persons  without  experience  have  little  idea  of  the  expense  and 
difficulties  of  getting  logs  down  the  small  streams  on  which  they 
were  banked  from  the  woods,  running  them  on  the  river  to  the  boom, 
getting  them  through  the  sorting  race  and  rafting  them  ready  for 
the  mills.  During  this  work  some  of  the  logs  became  water-logged 
and  sunk.  A  few  of  these  were  recovered  by  the  use  of  tugs  with 
barges  and  grapples,  but  it  is  thought  that  many  thousands  of  feet 
now  re])Ose  on  the  i^ottom  of  Lake  Poygan  and  the  river.  Pine  and 
cedar  are  the  only  logs  that  can  be  successfully  rafted.  Even  hem- 
lock have  to  be  mixed  with  pine,  and  to  get  hardwood  logs,  such  as 
oak,  maple,  ash  and  elm,  it  is  needful  to  place  three  or  four  good  sized 
pine  logs  by  the  side  of  each  hardwood  log,  and  even  then  they  will 
be  very  nearly  under  water.  Such  rafts  were  sometimes  brought  to 
Fond  du  Lac,  and  it  was  found  that  T.  S.  Henry  was  the  only  man 
in  the  mills  here,  who  could  file  a  circular  saw  to  successfully  cut 
these  hardwood  logs.     The  circular  saw  was  then  universally  used  in 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  21 

the  mills  here.  The  band  saw  was  then  practically  unknown.  The 
person  who  undertook  to  burn  the  slab  wood  from  these  hardwood 
logs  was  entitled  to  sympathy.  The"  water  took  all  the  life  out  of 
the  wood,  and  ashes  the  shape  of  the  stick,  with  little  heat,  was  left 
in  the  stove. 

The  local  decline  in  the  number  and  work  of  the  sawmills  is  not 
wholly  due  to  the  building  of  the  railroads,  however,  and  the  con- 
tention of  practical  men  that  the  roads  were  built  because  of  a  de- 
mand, is  no  doubt  true.  The  decrease  in  the  water  flow  in  the  streams 
made  the  running  of  logs  difificult  and  expensive  and  there  seemed  to 
be  a  necessity  for  cutting  the  lumber  further  north  and  employing 
railroad  transportation.  Hence  the  building  of  roads  and  moving 
of  mills. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  there  was  a  time  that  the  flow  of 
water  in  Wolf  river^  was  ample  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  for  the 
running  of  such  large  steamers  as  the  Tigress,  Milwaukee,  Tom  Wall 
and  W.  A.  Knapp  between  Oshkosh  and  New  London  as  a  daily 
line,  and  the  Diamond  and  Badger  State  to  Berlin.  This  was  long 
since  abandoned  as  impossible  and  as  small  a  boat  as  the  John  Lynch 
can  now  reach  only  as  far  north  as  Fremont.  Formerly  the  largest  logs 
floated  over  the  Mukwa  bar,  but  at  some  seasons  it  is  now  hardly 
practical  to  float  a  canoe  over  it.  This  being  the  situation,  logs  were 
liable  to  be  "hung  up"  for  a  whole  year,  and  the  risk  was  too  great. 
The  small  tributary  streams  of  the  A\^olf,  that  formerly  -oated  out 
logs  in  the  spring,  are  now  almost  destitute  of  water. 

It  will  also  be  remembered  by  old  settlers  that  there  was  a  time 
that  the  east  and  west  branches  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  river  at  some 
seasons  of  the  year  had  so  much  water  as  to  be  burdensome  and 
basements  and  streets  in  low  places  were  flooded.  This  occurred 
almost  every  year,  and  at  no  time  were  these  streams  deficient  in 
water  as  they  are  most  of  the  time  now.  In  early  times  the  Soper 
and  Bissell  mills  on  the  east  branch  and  the  Seymour  and  Clark  mills 
on  the  west  branch,  were  able  to  run  with  water  for  power.  All  of 
this  long  since  disappeared,  and  oftentimes  now  there  is  hardly 
water  sufflcient  to  water  a  flock  of  geese.  The  mills  are  dead  and 
gone  into  ruin  long  ago. 

It  is  in  place  here  to  say  that  while  R'ipon  had  five  water  mills 
and  one  woolen  mill  in  i860,  all  run  by  the  water  of  Silver  creek,  all 
but  one  have  disappeared  as  water  mills.  No  lumber  was  ever  cut 
at  that  place,  though  Julius  Eggleston  at  one  time  proposed  to  start 
a  mill  and  bring  logs  from  Winneconne  by  rail,  but  it  was  abandoned 
as  impractical.  ]\iills  still  run  on  the  small  streams  in  the  county, 
but  they  are  weak.  It  has  been  said  that  the  Phalanx  had  a  small 
water  mill  there  at  one  time,  but  if  so  it  was  very  short  lived. 

The  following  sawmills  have  had  an  existence  in  Fond  du  Lac 
and  they  appeared  in  about  the  order  here  given.  As  previously 
stated,  there  were  some  small  water  mills  before  the  Davis  mill  was 
built,  but  these  were  steam  mills  capable  of  doing  heavier  work: 


22  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

The  Col.  Davis  Mill. 

Located  on  bank  of  the  river  midway  between  Arndt  and  Scott 
streets.  Built  in  1847,  but  not  started  until  spring  of  1848.  This 
w^as  the  first  steam  mill  in  Fond  du  Lac. 

The  Littlefield  Mill. 

Located  on  east  side  of  the  river  near  Johnson  street.  Started 
in  1849.     Burned  after  a  year  or  two. 

The  Butler  Mill. 

On  west  bank  of  river  near  where  the  Wisconsin  Central  bridge 
is  now.     It  also  burned  after  two  or  three  years'  service.     1850. 

Henry  &  McKibbin  Mill. 

This  mill  was  in  the  warehouse  at  the  foot  of  Arndt  street, 
erected  by  E.  H.  Galloway  in  1848,  for  the  use  of  steamboats,  but 
was  never  so  used.  T.  S.  Henry  and  John  McKibbin  started  it  in 
1850,  and  it  was  the  first  mill  in  Fond  du  Lac  to  use  a  circular  saw. 
It  was  sold  to  Alex.  McDonald,  who  run  it  several  years. 

Second  Littlefield  Mill. 

East  bank  of  river  south  of  Scott  street.  Built  in  1851,  after  the 
first  Littlefield  mill  was  destroyed. 

The  Scribner  Mill. 

West  side  of  the  river  near  Johnson  street.     Built  in  1852. 

The  Sawyer  Mill. 

AVest  side  of  the  river  near  Scott  street.  Built  by  James 
Sawyer  in  1853. 

Leavitt   Mill — Hunter   &  Jewell,   Deacon   Fuller,  J.   Q.    Griffith. 

On  west  side  of  river  at  Forest  street  bridge,  where  the  Fond  du 
Lac  Implement  Company's  plant  is  now.  Built  by  Mr.  Leavitt  in 
1855- 

Asa   Pierce   &   Leonard   Bissell   Mill — Merryman   &    Hunter,   D.   W. 
Smith,  E.  N.  Foster,  Chas.  Chandler. 

On  east  bank  of  river  at  the  forks.  Built  in  1854  and  the  largest 
and  strongest  mill  in  Fond  du  Lac  up  to  this  time. 

Galloway  &  Hunter  Mill. 

On  east  bank  of  river  below  Arndt  street,  E.  H.  Galloway  and 
George  Hunter.    Built  in  1854. 

I.  K.  &  W.  C.  Hamilton  Mill— A.  K.  Hamilton. 

At  Luco  and  a  very  active  mill.  Started  in  1856  and  burned  in 
1884.  Was  rebuilt  the  following  year  and  sold  to  A.  K.  Hamilton. 
After  two  or  three  seasons,  it  was  again  burned  in  an  incendiary  fire 
and  the  location  abandoned. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  23 

The  Grain  Mill. 

Built  in  1865,  and  in  1866  was  bought  by  M.  D.  ]\Ioore  and  has 
for  many  years  been  known  as  the  Moore  &  Galloway  mill.  It  has 
burned  three  times  and  rebuilt. 

A.  K.  Hamilton  Mill. 

'  Northwest  of  West  Division  street  bridge.  Built  in  1879  by  J. 
Q.  Griffith  &  Sons  and  bought  by  Mr.  Hamilton  in  1884,  after  the 
burning  of  the  Luco  mill.  He  sold  it  in  1891  to  ]\Ir.  Curtis,  who  took 
it  north,  Mr.  Hamilton  retaining  the  land. 

The  Railroad  Mill. 

Below  Scott  street  and  the  landing.  Was  built  in  1857,  mainly 
to  cut  hardwood  for  the  car  shops.     Was  run  but  a  couple  of  years. 

C.  J.  L.  Meyer  Mill. 

On  the  marsh  near  the  Blast  Furnace.     Built  in  1868. 

The  Moore  &  Galloway  Mill. 

East  bank  of  the  river  near  Scott  street.  Built  in  1866  and  is 
the  only  sawmill  now  in  Fond  du  Lac. 

The  Second  Littlefield  Mill. 

The  second  Littlefield  mill  wa'S  overhauled  by  G.  W.  Sexmith 
and  run  two  seasons.  He  also  remodeled  the  Railroad  mill  and  run 
it.  The  Asa  Pierce  mill  at  the  forks  of  the  river,  and  the  Leavitt  mill 
at  Forest  street  bridge,  were  given  overhaulings  two  or  three  times 
by  different  parties  and  did  fair  work  for  a  time. 

It  is  a  fact  perhaps  not  peculiar,  that  all  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  mills 
were  destroyed  sooner  or  later  by  fire.  It  seems  to  have  been  their 
fate  to  burn.  The  mills  of  a  later  period  that  were  rebuilt,  were 
burned.  The  Meyer  mill,  the  Moore  &  Galloway  mill  and  the  Steen- 
berg  factory,  are  of  this  class.  The  Meyer  factory  was  on  fire  two 
or  three  times  but  escaped  destruction.  W^e  can  truthfully  say  that 
the  Fond  du  Lac  mills  went  up  in  smoke. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  sawmills  named  here,  also  cut 
shingles  and  lath,  but  the  following  were  distinct  shingle  mills: 

The  Shingle  Mills. 

The  Littlefield  Mill — East  bank  of  river  near  Scott  street. 

Beaudreau  Mill — East  side  of  river  near  Arndt  street. 

Galloway  &  Hunter  Mill — East  side  of  river  below  Arndt  street. 

J.  W.  Lusk  Mill — East  side  of  the  river  near  the  forks. 

C.  R.  Harrison,  T.  S.  Henry,  Alex.  White  and  a  few  others  were 
recognized  experts  in  mill  management  almost  from  the  beginning 
in  Fond  du  Lac,  and  were  identified  with  it  almost  to  the  end.  W'hen 
anything  goes  wrong  or  changes  are  to  be  made,  the  services  of  such 
men  are  a  necessity,  and  it  was  fortunate  for  the  Fond  du  Lac  mill 
men  that  they  had  such  men  to  draw  upon. 


24  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

^Mlile  the  Henry  &  McKibbin.  C.  J.  L.  Meyer  and  A.  K.  Hamil- 
ton mills  may  be  referred  to  as  among  the  best  Fond  du  Lac  has 
ever  had,  it  is  doubtless  true  that  the  one  until  lately  remaining  to 
us  was  at  least  the  equal  of  any  of  them.  The  last  Moore  &  Gallo- 
way mill  was  built  by  M.  D.  Moore,  C.  A.  Galloway  and  G.  N.  Mihills, 
under  the  corporate  name  of  the  Moore  &  Galloway  Lumber  Com- 
pany, and  besides  the  sawmill  have  a  large  factory  where  about 
everything  is  made  that  is  needed  for  building  purposes,  whether 
for  the  modest  dwelling  or  the  most  elaborate  trimmings  and  finish- 
ing for  the  business  structure.  They  also  maintain  three  large 
lumber  yards  in  this  city,  and  furnish  the  lumber  for  yards  in  other 
places. 

Besides  the  men  above  named  in  connection  with  these  mills, 
were  some  financially  interested  more  or  less  in  some  of  them  at 
different  times,  among  them  A.  G.  Ruggles,  John  Bannister,  S.  E. 
Lefferts,  Col.  N.  Boardman,  Orson  Breed,  B.  Nightingale,  J.  C.  Lewis, 
Geo.  W.  Weikert  and  others. 

Shingle  machines  were  invented  and  patented  by  Wm.  P.  Valen- 
tine, Dr.  Wm.  H.  Walker,  Kasson  Freeman  and  L.  Beaudreau.  The 
Valentine  machine  had  a  wide  sale  and  all  were  manufactured  here 
by  Peacock  &  White. 

In  1850  A.  G.  Ruggles  became  interested  in  the  Col.  Davis  mill 
and  late  in  that  3^ear  put  in  machinery  for  dressing  lumber,  but  there 
being  so  much  difficulty  at  that  time  in  getting  the  knives  of  planing 
machines  ground  properly,  the  work  was  for  a  time  abandoned  and 
the  mill  closed.  Later  on  C.  R.  Harrison  arranged  a  machine  to 
grind  the  knives  and  these  and  other  machines  were  started  to  pre- 
pare lumber  for  all  sorts  of  building  purposes.  These  were  the  first 
planing  machines  here  and  were  run  for  several  years.  John  Bonnell 
started  a  planing  mill  on  West  Johnson  street,  in  1854. 

The  first  mills  all  had  sash  or  mulay  saws,  and  the  first  circular 
saw  in  Fond  du  Lac  was  put  into  the  Henry  &  McKibbin  mill  by  T. 
S.  Henry.  The  filing  of  circulars  had  to  be  learned  by  experience, 
and  though  the  first  ones  were  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  there  was 
much  trouble  with  them.  The  idea  of  running  a  saw  as  thin  as  those 
of  late  years  would  have  been  thought  foolish.  The  old  saws  with 
the  set  in  them,  took  out  about  three-eighths  of  an  inch  of  the  log  at 
each  cut.  The  sus])icion  exists  in  the  minds  of  some,  that  here 
originated  the  modern  expression,  "monkey  with  the  buzz  saw." 

In  1863,  U.  D.  Mihills  started  a  sawmill  and  a  large  factory  in 
which  all  sorts  of  lumber  was  prepared  for  building  purposes,  includ- 
ing sash,  doors  and  blinds.  This  plant  burned  and  was  not  rebuilt. 
In  1874  the  Mihills  Manufacturing  Company  was  formed  with  G.  N. 
Mihills  at  the  head,  but  it  also  burned  after  a  time  and  was  merged 
in  the  Moore  &  Galloway  Lumber  Com])any. 

The  most  successful  of  all  our  lumber  firms,  though  ])assing 
through  three  fires,  the  Moore  &  Galloway  Lumber  Company,  was 
started  in  1866  by  M.  D.  Moore.  Mr.  C.  A.  Galloway  was  the  book- 
keeper, but  in  1868  became  a  partner  under  the  firm  name  of  Moore, 
Gallowav   &   Baker.     In    1884  the   firm    was  incorporated   under   the 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  25 

name  of  Moore  &  Galloway  Lumber  Company.  M.  D.  Moore,  C.  A. 
Galloway  and  G.  N.  Mihills  being  the  owners.  They  make  every  sort 
of  material  for  building  purposes.  Besides  the  extensive  yard  at 
the  mill,  the  company  has  two  large  yards  up  town.  Mr.  Moore 
died  in  1902  and  his  two  sons  have  taken  his  place  in  the  business. 

The  C.  J.  L.  Meyer  Factory. 

In  1854,  C.  J.  L.  Meyer  and  his  brother,  Herman  Meyer,  owned 
a  business  on  Main  street.  Then,  as  in  later  years.  C.  J.  L.  Meyer 
sought  something  better  through  inventive  genius  and  among  other 
things  invented  a  hollow  auger  for  the  use  of  wagon  and  carriage 
makers.  With  it  he  went  east  in  1856  and  during  his  absence  his 
brother  Herman  negotiated  for  the  purchase  of  a  small  planing  mill 
and  sash  factory  on  the  old  Bissell  mill  race,  owned  by  C.  O.  &  H.  L. 
Hurd.  It  was  built  to  run  by  water  power,  but  water  became  so 
scarce  that  the  outfit  was  moved  to  a  barn-like  shop  on  the  south 
side  of  Western  Avenue,  opposite  the  present  factory,  built  for  the 
manufacture  of  land  rollers.  Here  they  installed  their  machinery 
and  began  planing  lumber  and  making  sash.  Here  let  it  be  said,  for 
the  information  of  those  not  posted  in  manufactures  forty  and  fifty 
years  ago,  that  such  articles  as  sash,  blinds  and  doors  could  not  be 
then  bought  at  stores,  but  had  to  be  made  by  the  joiner  who  took 
the  contract  to  build  a  home.  Sash  first  came  on  the  market,  then 
doors  and  last  of  all  blinds.  During  this  time  Mr.  Meyer  lost  his 
brother  Herman  by  death,  and  he  continued  the  business  alone.  The 
power  in  the  factory  soon  became  too  w^eak,  and  Peacock  &  White 
built  an  engine  considerably  larger.  But  as  time  went  on,  and  new- 
machinery  was  added,  the  new  engine  became  too  small  and  the 
factory  building  also.  The  business  increased  enormously  so  that  in 
1865  Mr.  Meyer  bought  the  property  across  the  street  and  erected 
the  big  brick  factory.  Business  still  crowded  and  new  machinery  and 
new  power  were  demanded.  He  opened  a  large  w^arehouse  in 
Chicago  for  the  sale  of  the  product  of  the  factory  and  the  sales 
there  were  enormous,  but  besides  this  he  had  large  shipments  every 
day  to  points  on  the  Mississippi  river  and  the  west  generally.  The 
financial  side  of  the  business  was  in  charge  of  H.  Woodworth,  a 
former  well  known  dry  goods  man  here,  while  Mr.  Meyer  looked 
entirely  to  the  general  management.  And  so  things  continued  until 
about  1878,  when  a  reaction  began,  caused  by  the  establishment  of 
so  many  similar  concerns  throughout  the  country.  The  demand 
continued  to  decrease  until  in  1881  it  was  determined  to  make  furni- 
ture and  the  following  year  the  large  brick  finishing  rooms  east  of  the 
factory,  were  built.  In  the  meantime  Mr.  Woodworth  died,  Mr. 
Meyer  was  growing  old  and  his  great  Hermansville  plant  required 
so  much  of  his  attention  that  the  factory  here  was  neglected.  He 
now  found  it  impossible  to  keep  things  going  and  in  1886  failed. 
The  plant  now  stood  idle  until  1891.  when  Maj.  E.  R.  Herren  and  C. 
V.  McMillan,  from  Stevens  Point,  purchased  the  factory,  organized 
under  the  name  of  "The  Winnebago  Furniture  ]\Ianufacturing  Com- 
pany," and  have  run  it  with  wonderful  success  ever  since. 


26  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Mr.  Meyer  now  made  a  tremendous  effort,  by  aid  of  his  friends, 
to  save  as  much  as  possible  from  the  great  business  at  Hermansville. 
It  is  tmderstood  here  that  his  ill  success  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
some  ]\Iichigan  sharpers  were  successful  in  getting  possession  of  his 
property. 

In  connection  with  the  factory,  Mr.  Meyer  built  and  equipped 
a  fine  machine  shop  mainly  for  the  repair  and  building  of  his  own 
machinery.  The  buildings  erected  for  these  shops  still  stand  west 
of  the  court  house.  These  shops  were  first  started  on  the  marsh 
north  of  Scott  street  near  his  sawmill.  He  also  built  the  blast  fur- 
nace but  did  not  put  it  in  blast.  Mr.  Meyer  was  an  enthusiastic  and 
able  business  man,  but  often  his  ideas  were  wiled. 

The  Steenberg  Factory. 

This  well  known  business  was  started  by  Lewis  &  Steenberg 
in  1868.  In  1871  O.  C.  Steenberg  bought  out  Mr.  Lewis,  and  the 
only  change  made  since  that  time,  was  to  the  title  of  the  O.  C.  Steen- 
berg Company,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Steenberg  in  1894.  Since  then 
the  factory  has  been  under  the  management  of  F.  G.  Steenberg,  oldest 
son  of  O.  C.  Steenberg.  In  1885  the  factory  burned  and  was  a  total 
loss,  but  in  just  six  months  a  new  factory  was  started  across  the 
street  from  the  old  one.  In  1895  ^^'^^  large  brick  warehouse  was 
burned,  with  a  loss  of  $12,000,  in  sash,  doors  and  blinds.  It  was  re- 
built at  once.  Fire  has  been  a  serious  enemy  of  this  factory,  but  it 
has  continued  in  its  work  and  is  still  running.  O.  C.  Steenberg  was 
principal  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  High  school  in  1863  and  died  May  17, 
1894. 

Stewart  &  McDonald  Factory. 

Alex.  Stewart  and  Alex.  McDonald  built  a  factory  in  1869  at  the 
corner  of  Arndt  and  Brooke  streets.  They  bought  the  Henry  & 
McKibbin  mill  at  the  foot  of  Arndt  street,  and  cut  the  lumber  there 
for  the  factory,  besides  much  hardwood.  The  factory  had  been  idle 
about  three  years  when  it  was  burned  down  in  1887,  and  was  not 
rebuilt.  The  Cotton  Street  M.  E.  Church  was  burned  at  the  same 
time. 

A  number  of  small  factories  were  run  at  different  times  and  in 
different  parts  of  the  city,  but  did  not  last  long  and  their  output  was 
mostly  on  local  orders. 


To  Teach   English  to   Indians. 

It  was  some  years  after  the  appointment  of  Gust.  Bonesteel  as 
Indian  Agent  in  1856,  that  the  people  got  through  laughing  at  his 
taking  Squire  Goldstucker  north  to  teach  the  English  language  to 
Indians.  The  joke  was  in  the  fact  that-  Goldstucker  was  at  that 
time  the  crookedest  talker  of  English  in  the  entire  community.  His 
best  talk  was  in  slang  dutch,  hence  the  amusing  feature. 


FOND  DU  LAC  RAILROADS 


A  Brief  History  of  the  Railroads  at  Fond  du  Lac,  Together  With 
Some  Personalities   Connected  Therewith. 


Fond  du  Lac's  first  railroad  station  was  a  small  building  set  on 
blocks  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Forest  Avenue  and  Brooke  street. 
It  looked  more  like  a  barn  than  a  railroad  station.  The  first  trains 
went  only  to  Oakfield,  from  whence  a  stage  line  was  put  on  across 
to  Woodland  and  a  route  opened  to  Milwaukee.  But  the  road  soon 
reached  to  Chester  and  remained  there  until  the  Milwaukee  road 
reached  Minnesota  Junction,  when  our  line  was  extended  there  and 
we  had  an  all  rail  route  to  Milwaukee.  In  the  mornings  at  about  8 
o'clock,  Ben  Garvin  brought  the  little  locomotive  Winnebago,  the 
only  one  then  here,  with  all  the  pride  imaginable,  to  the  first  station, 
pulling  one  to  four  flat  cars  and  a  compromise  passenger  car.  Jud. 
Remington,  the  first  conductor,  sang  out  "all  aboard,"  and  away  they 
went  for  the  terminus  of  the  line. 

But  this  small  barn-like  station  house  did  not  remain  there  long. 
The  station  was  moved  one  block  north,  to  Division  street,  where  a 
very  good  building  for  the  time,  was  erected  and  in  one  form  and 
another  was  occupied  for  the  purpose  about  forty  years  and  until  the 
present  station  house  was  built  in  1893.  If  it  had  been  able  to  see 
and  talk,  what  tales  that  old  depot  could  tell.  Changes  were  made 
a  number  of  times  in  arrangement  and  size  of  the  building,  but 
mainly  it  was  the  same  all  those  years.  The  building  was  moved  east 
from  the  track  and  is  now  used  as  a  freight  house.  Who  of  the  old 
timers  do  not  remember  the  familiar  faces  of  John  Kuicks  as  depot 
master  and  Tom  Moore  as  baggageman,  about  that  station  at  train 
time.  Ben  Garvin  looked  after  the  round  house  and  Mr.  Landerman 
of  the  yards.  People  under  thirty-five  years  of  age  cannot  remember 
the  big  smoke  stacks  of  the  wood  burner  engines  then  in  use. 

Conductors. — The  first  fares  the  writer  saw  collected  on  a  car 
of  the  Northwestern  road,  was  by  A.  D.  Bonesteel,  when  the  road 
was  built  to  Chester  only,  but  his  service  was  temporary.  The  con- 
ductors on  this  end  of  the  road  were  J.  B.  Clock  and  Jud.  Reming- 
ton. After  the  road  was  completed  to  Chicago,  the  trains  brought 
A.  A.  Hobart,  George  Webber,  Ben  Patrick.  John  Barker,  Cy. 
Cambridge  and  J.  B.  Clock  as  conductors,  and  a  little  later,  but  still 
pioneers  in  the  work,  came  Lew  Hall,  Sam  Gilford,  Ben  Sherer, 
George  French,  Lew  Emerson  and  others,  all  of  whom  Fond  du  Lac 
people  became  familiar  with.  All  are  now  dead  and  died  in  their 
beds.  There  were  occasional  accidents  but  none  were  killed.  It  was 
said  of  John  Barker  that  he  was  more  years  on  the  road  and  passed 


28  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

over  more  miles  of  track  than  any  other  man  ever  in  the  employ  of 
the  Northwestern  road.     He  was  also  the  most  popular  man. 

Engineers. — Among  the  old  time  engineers  were  George  Bentley, 
Al.  Hobart,  Ben.  Garvin,  George  McNamara,  Charles  Webber,  Steve 
Hotallng.  Albert  Selleck.  Jake  Adams,  Will  Barnes,  H.  Wellington 
and  a  little  later,  still  veterans,  came  Jack  Tripp,  Lncien  Smith, 
Gust.  Brasted.  Dick  Moulton,  Sam  Davis,  Amos  Klingsmith.  Of 
these  old  time  engineers,  Steve  Hotaling,  Ben  Garvin,  Jack  Tripp, 
Gust.  Brasted  and  xA.mos  Klingsmith  are  still  living.  George  Bentley 
was  killed  in  the  war  and  Sam  Davis  was  killed  in  a  wreck  near 
Appleton. 

George  McNamara  was  on  the  engine.  Perry  H.  Smith,  attached 
to  the  excursion  train  of  eleven  cars  that  met  with  the  terrible  acci- 
dent at  Johnson's  Creek,  in  September,  1858,  and  A.  A.  Hobart  was 
the  conductor  of  that  train.  Neither  of  them  was  seriously  hurt. 
As  Fond  du  Lac  was  for  many  years  the  division  headquarters,  the 
people  here  were  familiar  with  all  those  old-time  employes  whose 
names  are  here  mentioned. 

Ground  was  broken  in  Fond  du  Lac  for  what  is  now  the  North- 
western road,  on  Jvily  4,  185 1,  was  running  to  Chester  in  1855  and 
to  Chicago  in  1858.  The  road  to  Milwaukee,  known  at  the  time  it 
was  built  in  1872,  as  the  Air  Line,  was  built  mainly  through  the 
efforts  of  C.  J.  L.  Meyer  and  James  Coleman.  The  Sheboygan  line, 
now  owned  by  the  Northwestern,  was  built  from  Sheboygan  to  Glen- 
beulah  in  1868,  to  Fond  du  Lac  in  1871  and  to  Princeton  in  1874. 
Extended  to  Grand  Rapids  and  Marshfield  in   1900. 

Judge  Kinyon  completed  the  narrow  gauge  road  to  Iron  Ridge 
in  1874.  It  was  known  as  the  Fond  du  Lac,  Amboy  &  Peoria  Rail- 
road. It  maintained  a  sickly  existence  and  was  finally  absorbed  by 
the  St.  Paul  road  in  1885.  The  gauge  was  at  once  changed  to  the 
standard  and  new  life  was  infused  into  it.  The  Midland  track  now 
owned  by  the  St.  Paul,  were  laid  through  the  city  by  the  efforts  of 
Col.  N.  Boardman,  Dana  C.  Lamb  and  others,  in  1892  and  the  depots 
of  the  St.  Paul  were  moved  to  the  east  side  in  1897.  The  North- 
western has  a  contract  for  track  rights  over  it  at  certain  hours  of 
each  day,  which  makes  it  an  important  line  for  business  men  of  the 
city. 

The  Wisconsin  Central  was  extended  from  Neenah  to  Fond  du 
Lac  in  1881,  and  to  Chicago  in  1883,  and  track  rights  from  Rugby 
Junction  to  Milwaukee,  gives  Fond  du  Lac  first  class  lines  to  both 
cities.  In  1896  C.  F.  Whitcomb  became  president  of  the  Wisconsin 
Central  and  transferred  the  shops  and  division  headquarters  to  North 
Fond  du  Lac  and  built  the  street  railway  line  to  that  ])oint.  The 
foMowing  year  the  Northwestern  located  its  shops  there,  thus  adding 
to  this  city  an  important  suburb. 


The  office  of  Register  of  Deeds  in  the  old  court  house  was  not  a 
pleasant  place,  and  it  became  dismal  enough  in  the  small  stone  build- 
ing before  it  was  moved  to  present  quarters. 


DEALERS  IN  DRY  GOODS 


Who  Have  Been  the  Dealers  in  Dry  Goods  From  the  Earliest  Times 

to  the  Present.     History  of  the  Trade  in 

Fond  du  Lac. 


When  we  say  that  the  first  dry  goods  sold  in  Fond  du  Lac  were 
sold  in  the  first  building  erected  here,  the  Fond  du  Lac  House,  near 
the  corner  of  Johnson  and  Brooke  streets,  we  might  also  say  that 
the  first  hats  and  caps,  boots  and  shoes,  hardware,  groceries,  etc., 
were  also  sold  there,  as  the  first  store,  that  of  Clock  &  Weikert,  was 
a  general  store,  as  were  also  all  of  the  first  stores  here,  which  means 
that  they  kept  a  little  of  everything  needed  in  a  new  settlement. 
Their  advertisements  in  the  newspapers  used  to  read  dry  goods, 
groceries,  hardware,  crockery,  boots  and  shoes,  hats  and  caps,  tin- 
ware, cordage,  etc.  The  sale  of  some  of  these  articles  was  continued 
in  the  dry  goods  stores  many  years  after  special  stores  were  estab- 
lished. A  store  with  only  dry  goods  in  it  was  not  known  in  Fond 
du  Lac  until  Mr.  Whittelsey  came  here  from  New  York  and  went 
into  business  with  John  Sharpe.  Until  this  time  all  of  them  kept  a 
few  staple  groceries  and  ladies  shoes.  Before  the  special  stores 
came,  the  customer  could  get  about  all  he  wanted  at  one  store,  yet 
the  stocks  were  not  especially  large  as  the  variety  in  any  one  line 
was  so  much  less  than  it  is  now.  The  customer  was  content  with 
what  he  could  get,  for  he  knew  nothing  about  great  variety.  Of 
the  dress  goods  now  displayed  in  the  dry  goods  stores  for  the  ladies 
to  select  from,  were  wholly  unknown — they  were  not  in  existence. 
The  present  status  of  the  trade  is  a  matter  of  growth,  especially  in 
the  last  thirty  years.  Of  our  present  merchants,  only  Mr.  Whittelsey 
and  ]\I.  Wagner  have  had  personal  knowledge  of  the  changes. 

It  was  during  and  after  the  war  of  the  rebellion  that  the  people's 
wants  became  so  great  that  the  efiforts  of  manufacturers  and  dealers 
were  strained  to  meet  them.  During  the  war  period  and  for  some 
years  after,  money  flowed  freely  and  fortunes  were  made  rapidly. 
As  Josh  Billings  once  said,  "people  bored  holes  with  big  augers." 
Enormous  strides  were  made  in  the  direction  of  extravagance,  and 
we  are  hardly  out  of  the  course  yet.  In  1905  we  may  have  made 
some  progress  in  economy  of  living,  but  people  of  the  pioneer  period 
would  look  upon  us  of  today  as  in  the  highest  degree  extravagant. 
We  must  admit  that  there  is  room  for  the  practice  of  economy,  es- 


30 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 


pecially   in   dry  goo 
Fond  du   Lac  from 
Clock  &  Weikert. 
George  Keys. 
Geo.  W.  Gillet. 
A.  P.  &  G.  N.  Lyman. 
Wm.  A.  Dewey. 
Brownson  &  Laughlin. 
Carswell  &  jJee. 
Hall  &  Hoskins. 
John  Sharp. 
John  Sewell. 
E.  R.  Ferris. 
Mumford  &  Tanner. 
Parker  &  Prettyman. 
Drummond  &  Co. 
Valentine  &  Olmsted. 


ds.      Following  are   the 
the  beginning : 

Charles  Geisse. 

Moses  S.  Gibson. 

C.    P.   Weld. 

Sewell  &  Brother. 

Smith  &  Chandler. 

Rumsey  Bros. 

Sharpe  &  Whittelsey. 

Dormer  &  Green. 

C.  J.  Pettibone  &  Co. 

Hoskins  &  Serwe. 

H.  Woodworth. 

Erlich  &  Co. 

Lange  Bros. 

P.  Brucker. 

Wagner  &  Sons. 


dealers  in   dry   goods  in 

O'Rourke  Bros. 

Laughlin  &  Carey. 

H.  K.  Laughlin. 

L.  C.  Martin. 

Haas  &  Wagner. 

P.  B.  Clancy. 

O.  H.  Ansted. 

J.  Goldstorm. 

Whittelsey  Dry  Goods  Co. 

O'Brien  Dry  Goods   Co. 

M.  Wagner  &  Son. 

J.  F.  Gruenheck. 

Strassel'  &  Co. 

H.  Yabroff. 


H.^  Yabroff. 


Those  in  the  business  here  now  are : 
Whittelsey  Dry  Goods  Co.  M.  Wagner  &  Son. 

O'Brien  Dry  Goods  Co.  J.  F.  Gruenheck. 

Haas  &  Wagner.  Strassel  &  Co. 

The  first  store,  that  of  Clock  &  Weikert,  in  one  of  the  rooms  of 
the  old  Fond  du  Lac  House,  wotild  not  be  a  very  desirable  place  for 
present  day  shoppers,  but  it  served  its  day  as  a  place  to  procure  a 
few  necessities.  Fancy  goods  did  not  belong  to  that  day.  Fifteen 
years  after  this  store  ceased  to  exist,  James  B,  Clock  was  a  passenger 
conductor  on  the  Northwestern  road  and  George  W.  Weikert  was 
postmaster  of  the  city  and  lived  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Main  and 
Fifth  streets. 

The  second  store  here  was  brought  in  a  little  later  by  George 
Keys.  It  was  located  further  up  town,  and  while  it  also  would  fail 
the  modern  shopper,  it  served  its  purpose  as  a  general  store.  The 
stock  was  much  larger  than  that  of  Clock  &  Weikert  and  for  a  number 
of  years  was  a  popular  place  to  trade. 

The  next  store  here,  that  of  A.  P.  &  G.  N.  Lyman,  with  W.  A. 
Dewey  in  charge,  was  much  more  pretentious  and  gave  Fond  du  Lac 
quite  a  business  boost.  The  Lymans  had  ample  capital,  and  with  a 
large  store  at  Sheboygan,  were  able  to  push  btisiness.  They  handled 
cattle  and  had  a  distillery  at  Sheboygan.  About  1852,  G.  N.  Lyman 
went  to  Ripon  and  lived  there  many  years,  handling  cattle.  He  also 
started  a  distillery  there  but  soon  became  impressed  that  it  was  not 
a  respectable  business,  and  quit  it. 

Next  came  H.  K.  Laughlin  and  G.  F.  Brownson,  in  1849,  under 
the  well  known  firm  name  of  Brownson  &  Laughlin,  with  the  best 
stock  of  goods  Fond  du  Lac  people  had  yet  seen.  They  were  in 
business  many  years  and  the  name  of  the  firm  became  well  known 
far  and  near. 

But  it  was  not  until  1861,  when  J.  C.  Whittelsey  came  here  from 
New  York  to  join  John  Sharpe  in  business  under  the  firm  name  of 
Sharpe  &  Whittelsey,  that  Fond  du  Lac  had  anything  like  a  straight 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  31 

dry  goods  store.  Up  to  this  time  all  the  stores  kept  more  or  less  of 
mixed  stocks  of  goods.  After  Mr.  Whittelsey  became  sole  proprietor, 
everything  except  dry  goods  were  cast  out  and  it  was  Fond  dti  Lac's 
first  straight  dry  goods  store.  Mr.  Whittelsey  is  now  the  veteran 
of  the  dry  goods  trade  here. 

M.  Wagner  ranks  next  in  seniority  in  the  trade.  Mr.  Wagner 
came  to  Fond  du  Lac  in  1856,  but  has  not  been  all  the  time  in  the 
dry  goods  trade.  During  his  first  twenty-two  years  here  he  clerked 
for  different  dealers  and  went  into  dry  goods  in  his  own  name  in  1878. 
He  and  his  son  Adolph  now  own  the  building  in  which  they  are 
doing  business  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  West  Second  streets,  and 
have  one  of  the  handsomest  stores  in  the  city. 

In  this  year  of  1905,  J.  C.  Whittelsey  is  the  veteran  of  the  dry 
goods  trade  in  Fond  du  Lac.  The  large  store  which  bears  his  name, 
had  its  origin  here  in  1858,  in  the  name  of  John  Sharpe.  Mr.  Whit- 
telsey came  from  New  York  city  in  1861,  and  the  firm  of  Sharpe  & 
Whittelsey  continued  until  1875,  when  ill  health  induced  the  with- 
drawal of  Mr.  Sharpe,  who  went  to  Florida  and  died  there  three 
years  later.  The  dry  goods  trade  was  continued  by  Mr.  Whittelsey 
until  1901,  when  the  present  organization  was  effected  under  the 
name  of  Whittelsey  Dry  Goods  Co.  Mr.  Whittelsey  was  in  the 
trade  here  just  forty  years  when  he  gave  up  active  management  to 
the  company.  The  ground  on  which  the  store  is  located,  was  bought 
in  1869,  but  the  building  was  not  erected  until  1873.  When  Mr. 
Whittelsey  came  here  the  store  was  in  the  old  Darling's  block,  but 
was  afterward  moved  to  the  building  which  stood  where  the  store 
is  now. 

Of  the  general  reputation  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  dry  goods  stores, 
it  is  a  well  recognized  fact  that  Laughlin's,  in  all  the  years  he  was  in 
business  here,  stood  at  the  head  for  the  class  of  goods  kept  in  stock. 
If  an  article  came  from  Laughlin's,  it  was  conceded  to  be  the  best 
in  market.     To  go  to  Laughlin's  meant  to  get  the  best. 

On  the  other  hand,  to  go  to  the  cheap  John  stores  that  have  been 
here,  meant  to  get  something  cheap  in  quality  as  well  as  price.  The 
general  impression  in  the  community  seemed  to  be  that  good  goods 
were  not  kept  there,  and  it  was  probably  correct.  Dealers  no  doubt 
fully  realize  the  fact  that  a  reputation  of  some  sort  is  sure  to  come 
to  them.  To  use  Abraham  Lincoln's  adage,  "you  may  be  able  to 
fool  all  the  people  some  of  the  time,  some  of  the  people  all  the  time, 
but  you  can't  fool  all  the  people  all  the  time." 

The  busiest  place  Fond  du  Lac  ever  had  in  this  line  was  Petti- 
bone's.  The  object  of  C.  J.  Pettibone  was  to  drive  business,  to  push 
it  to  its  fullest  extent.  On  the  street  he  went  as  if  shot  out  of  a  gun. 
He  was  always  in  a  hurry.  The  class  of  goods  kept  was  not  recog- 
nized as  always  the  best,  but  his  aim  was  to  sell  them,  good  or  bad. 
To  use  a  modern  expression,  he  was  a  hustler. 

Our  dealers  generally  have  been  looked  upon  through  many 
years  as  being  fair  and  honorable  and  as  having  fine  stocks,  some 


32  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

have  drawn  patronage  from  people  long  distances  away.  Good 
goods,  large  stocks  and  reasonable  prices  have  been  the  rule.- 

The  early  days  dry  goods  firm  of  Carswell  &  Dee  was  well 
known  in  the  fifties.  Mr.  Allan  Carswell,  a  tall,  well  proportioned 
and  noble  Scotchman,  left  here  and  went  into  business  at  Oshkosh, 
where  he  died  in  1883.  Thos  W.  Dee  returned  to  Canada,  where  he 
died  a  few  years  ago.  Fond  du  Lac  never  had  more  popular  men 
personally,  than  the  members  of  this  firm.  John  Sewell  and  his 
brother  Joseph  Sewell,  died  a  few  years  ago  on  the  Pacific  coast.  T. 
Drummond  died  at  Denver  about  ten  years  ago.  His  brother,  Robert 
is  still  with  us.  Wilson  Drummond  died  in  Kansas.  Daniel  W. 
Smith,  Charles  Chandler,  J.  W.  Valentine,  Charles  and  Joseph  Olm- 
sted, A.  P.  Lyman,  G.  N.  Lyman,  W.  A.  Dewey,  E.  R.  Ferris,  G.  F. 
Brownson,  H.  K.  Laughlin,  C.  J.  Pettibone,  in  fact  pretty  much  all 
the  old  time  Fond  du  Lac  merchants  have  crossed  the  silent  river  of 
death.  Very  few  of  the  old  timers  remain  in  any  business  here. 
But  a  few  years  more  and  the  old  names  will  be  all  gone. 

Time  works  great  changes  and  half  a  century  obliterates  the 
past  like  a  pall.  These  now  here  in  business  will  be  the  old  men  in 
a  few  years,  like  those  of  fifty  years  ago  are  now.  The  business  men 
of  today  may  flatter  themselves  that  they  do  not  have  to  meet  the 
cares  and  privations  of  their  predecessors.  "Their  yoke  is  easy  and 
their  burden  is  light." 

Dry  Goods  in  Ripen. 

Bowen  &  Beynon  were  the  pioneer  dealers  in  dry  goods  at  Ripon. 
They  opened  their  store  when  this  bright  and  lively  city  was  but  a 
village  of  a  few  people  and  Capt.  Alapes  was  getting  in  his  best 
work.  Then  came  Skeels  &  Hammond,  Samuel  Sumner  and  Olmsted 
&  Miner.  Later  on  were  Hammond  &  Pinkney,  J.  E.  Sebring,  A.  W. 
Pettibone  and  H.  B.  King.  All  these  stores  were  there  before  1876, 
all  were  well  kept  and  carried  large  stocks  of  goods.  Ripon  has  al- 
ways had  first-class  dry  goods  stores,  well  managed. 

It  was  Samuel  Sumner,  who  early  in  the  war  believed  the  price 
of  cotton  goods  must  of  necessity  advance  in  price,  and  put  all  the 
money  he  had  and  all  he  could  raise  into  cotton,  with  the  result  of 
reaping  a  big  fortune.  ]\Ir.  Sebring  tried  it  afterward,  but  was  too 
late. 

A  new  feature  in  the  sale  of  dry  goods  has  come  to  us  in  the  last 
few  years.  While  the  regular  dry  goods  stores  keep  the  same  goods, 
there  are  stores  which  deal  only  in  trimmings  and  the  smaller  articles 
which  ladies  shop  for.  In  former  times  we  had  what  was  known  as 
variety  stores,  but  their  stocks  were  not  like  the  shopping  stores  of 
today.  They  handled  a  class  of  goods  known  as  "yankee  notions." 
We  have  these  stores  yet,  but  they  ignore  general  dry  goods  and 
ladies"  trimmings,  furnishings  and  fancy  goods  are  their  stocks.  The 
fact  that  the  variety  of  these  goods  has  so  vastly  increased  has  no 
doubt  brought  into  existence  .  stores  for  handling  them.  The  mer- 
chant of  the  early  days  of  Fond  du  Lac  would  no  doubt  have  been 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  33 

Startled  to  have  one-half  the  variety  of  the  articles  of  today,  placed 
upon  his  counters.  And  what  would  have  been  the  thoughts  of  the 
lady  of  fifty  years  ago  if  her  dressmaker  had  ordered  so  many  yards 
of  trimmings  for  her  dress.  During  the  period  of  hoops,  it  required 
many  yards  of  material,  but  the  trimmings  were  left  out  as  com- 
. pared  with  the  dress  of  today.  And  in  the  making,  when  would  the 
dressmaker  complete  a  job  but  for  the  sewing  machine. 

The  ladies  and  the  dry  goods  dealers  have  to  be  fast  friends.  He 
supplies  her  demands  and  she  is  his  best  customer.  With  dry  goods 
the  average  man  has  little  to  do  except  to  pay  for  them. 


First  County  History. 

The  first  attempt  at  a  history  of  Fond  du  Lac  County  was  by 
Martin  Mitchell,  in  1854.  It  is  a  small  book  of  ninety-six  pages  and 
sold  for  $1.50.  It  was  printed  in  the  office  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  treated  mainly  of  the  organization  and  settlement  of  the  various 
towns.  It  is  interesting  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  no  attempt  is  made  to 
handle  the  vast  fund  of  historical  matters  pertaining  to  early  days, 
of  which  so  many  then  living  were  personally  cognizant.  An 
edition  of  five  hundred  was  printed,  yet  today,  after  the  lapse  of  fifty 
years,  a  copy  is  found  with  much  difficulty.  The  writer  knows  of 
but  three,  one  of  which  he  owns  and  is  grateful  for  to  Mrs.  Spencer, 
of  Racine,  daughter  of  J.  A.  Smith. 


Curious  Records  and  Relics. 

If  one  has  time  to  search  through  the  old  records  and  files  at 
the  court  house,  he  will  find  some  queer  relics  or  records.  For  in- 
stance, in  the  files  in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Court  was  found 
the  complaint  drawn  in  1856,  showing  the  beginning  of  a  suit  by 
one  prominent  lawyer  against  another  for  a  "vigorous  kick  admin- 
istered to  the  posterior  portion  of  his  body  by  the  toe  of  defendant's 
boot,  to  the  great  injury  of  complainant's  body  and  mind."  It  is 
narrated  in  the  complaint  that  defendant  followed  complainant  from 
the  court  house  without  his  knowledge,  and  when  opposite  Darling's 
block,  on  Main  street,  administered  the  kick  without  his  knowledge 
or  consent,  and  asks  for  $5,000  damages.  AVhat  the  ofTense  was  that 
led  to  the  kicking  is  not  stated,  but  is  presumed  to  have  been  some- 
thing that  occurred  in  a  law  suit,  of  a  nature  common  in  early  times 
among  lawyers.  It  is  not  needful  to  give  names  here,  but  sufficient 
to  say  that  both  were  prominent  lawyers  at  the  time. 


Where  Was  Your  Furniture  Made? 

It  was  since  the  starting  of  Fred.  Sander's  furniture  store  in 
Fond  du  Lac,  that  if  you  wanted  a  bureau,  a  cupboard,  a  bedstead, 
a  table,  anything  in  the  furniture  line,  even  to  common  chairs,  you 
went  to  the  shop  and  ordered  it.     It  all  comes  from  the  factory  now. 


34  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Scripture  or  Not  Scripture. 

Any  man  who  lifts  his  hand  against  a  woman  otherwise  than  in 
acts  of  kindness,  it  were  flattery  to  call  a  heathen.  Such  was  the  re- 
mark Justice  of  the  Peace  J.  J.  Driggs  once  made  to  a  man  before 
him  for  whipping  his  wife.  "Squire,"  said  the  man,  "you  are  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and  you  ought  to  know  that  is 
not  in  the  Bible."  "I  didn't  say  it  was,"  replied  Driggs,  "and  if  it 
isn't  in  the  Bible  it  ought  to  be."  "But  you  have  not  quoted  it  right 
anyhow."  "Never  mind,  it  is  good  enough  scripture  for  five  dollars 
and  costs." 


Disliked  Scandal  Cases. 

In  the  trial  of  cases  in  circuit  court  in  which  scandal  was  likely 
to  be  developed,  J.  M.  Gillet  was  somewhat  noted  for  his  dislike  to 
have  women  present.  He  thought  it  was  not  a  proper  place  for  them. 
And  so  in  the  noted  Matteson-Curtis  scandal  case,  from  Rosendale, 
as  a  great  many  women  from  the  city  and  some  from  Rosendale, 
were  present  ever}^  day  of  the  long  trial,  he  took  occasion  to  talk 
about  it  in  his  address  to  the  jur3^  In  his  address  to  the  jury  on  the 
other  side,  C.  A.  Eldredge  started  in  to  defend  them  and  talked 
graciously  for  a  while,  but  drifted  into  a  line  of  argument  more  severe 
than  anything  Gillet  had  said.  Before  leaving  the  court  room  some 
women  took  him  to  task  for  it.  "Well,"  said  he,  "conscience  choked 
me  off  and  the  old  cuss  set  right  down  on  me."  It  was  long  after 
this  that  the  women  ceased  their  talk  about  speeches  of  Gillet  and 
Eldredsre. 


An  Old  Time  PostofBce  Clerk. 

Who  of  the  older  citizens  does  not  remember  John  Woodhull, 
for  many  years  a  clerk  in  the  Fond  du  Lac  postofiQce.  Always 
pleasant,  always  reliable  and  always  ready  with  an  answer  to  any 
foolish  question.  He  could  tell  the  caller  when  they  got  their  last 
letter  and  when  they  would  get  another,  could  tell  to  a  minute  when 
a  letter  would  reach  its  destination,  or  if  another  person  of  the  same 
name  lived  in  a  place  to  which  a  letter  was  addressed,  John  knew  on 
the  instant,  every  detail  of  the  business.  He  was  a  bachelor,  but 
drifted  back  east  in  1887,  where  he  was  married  and  died  about  six 
years  ago.  Few  men  in  Fond  du  Lac  had  more  friends  and  none 
could  be  more  implicitly  trusted. 


The  County  Seat  Contest. 

Less  than  sixty  years  ago  it  was  uncertain  whether  Taycheedah 
or  Fond  du  Lac  would  be  the  county  seat  of  this  county.  The  harbor 
at  the  south  end  of  the  lake  and  the  overflowing  marsh  to  the  north- 
east, won  the  prize  for  Fond  du  Lac. 


THAT  INDIAN  SCARE 


One    of    the    Most    Singular    and    Incomprehensible    Events    in    the 
History  of  Fond  du  Lac  County. 


This  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  incomprehensible 
events  in  the  entire  history  of  Fond  du  Lac  county.  It  started  from 
the  east  side  of  the  county,  but  where  and  how  it  originated  has  not 
with  certainty  been  ascertained  to  this  day.  It  seems  to  have  been 
one  of  those  foolish  events  which  no  one  wants  to  talk  about  after 
it  is  all  ended.  It  was  ascertained  that  five  Indian  wood  cutters,  be- 
tween Chilton  and  Manitowoc,  got  into  a  fight  among  themselves, 
which  was  all  the  trouble  there  was  and  all  the  Indians  known  to  be 
in  all  the  region.  The  scare  spread  from  house  to  house,  teams  were 
hitched  to  wagons,  the  families  hurriedly  piled  in  and  left  for  this 
city,  the  supposed  place  of  safety.  Early  in  the  morning  the  streets 
in  the  east  part  of  town  were  filled  with  teams  and  lined  with 
refugees.  All  told  the  same  blood-curdling  stories  of  fire  and  murder, 
and  that  the  savages  were  but  a  short  distance  away,  they  were  com- 
ing hundreds  strong,  seeking  for  blood.  Edward  Beeson,  Edward 
Pier,  Curt  Lewis,  Dave  Curran  and  other  old  residents  familiar  with 
Indians,  ridiculed  the  scare  and  tried  to  reassure  the  people,  but 
still  they  came.  But  no  Indians  appeared  and  shortly  after  dinner 
a  company  was  organized  on  horseback  to  go  out  east  and  find  out 
what  was  happening.  In  this  company  the  writer  remembers,  Fred 
Kalk,  Keyes  Darling,  Sile  Gilbert  and  D.  E.  Hoskins.  They  went 
out  twelve  miles,  but  found  no  Indians  or  heard  of  any.  Another 
party  of  eight  or  ten.  among  whom  were  Edward  Pier,  Edward 
Beeson,  Ham  Clark  and  others  familiar  with  Indians,  went  out  in  a 
light  buss  by  way  of  Lake  deNeveu,  ending  their  trip  at  the  home 
of  Egbert  Foster,  two  and  one-half  miles  east  of  the  present  Eden 
station,  where  they  found  the  house  surrounded  by  refugees  whom 
Mr.  Foster  had  induced  to  stop  on  their  way  to  the  city.  The  news 
had  come  to  the  city  that  Mr.  Foster's  buildings  and  crops  had  been 
burned  and  the  family  butchered,  and  when  the  party  arrived  there 
was  loud  cheering.  Toward  evening  the  refugees  gained  confidence 
and  began  to  leave  for  home.     So  ended  this  remarkable  scare. 

In  her  paper  on  remembrances  of  early  days,  Madame  deNeveu 
says: 

That  Indian  "Scare." 

One  day  in  September,  1862,  my  six  children  came  rushing 
home  from  school,  scared  nearly  to  death.  One  of  my  sons,  Arthur, 
was  hardly  able  to  articulate.  They  all  told  the  same  tale — the  In- 
dians were  coming,  and  Mr.  Germond  was  going  to  call  for  all  and 
take  us  into  town.     He  soon  appeared  with  his  family  and  was  so 


36  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

scared  he  did  not  wait  for  all  my  children,  but  with  some  of  them, 
dashed  off,  the  rest  I  sent  by  other  neisi;hbors.  My  husband  and 
other  son,  Edward,  had  gone  to  the  city  early  that  morning  and  were 
surprised  enough  to  see  the  children  landed  on  Main  street  and  hear 
the  awful  tales  of  bloodshed,  of  the  mill  burning  and  of  troops  of 
warriors  just  around  the  last  bend  or  over  the  last  hill  when  people 
had  given  their  farewell  looks  (as  tliev  supposed)  to  their  homes.  I 
would  not  believe  the  tales  I  heard,  for  I  questioned  as  to  where  the 
Indians  had  come  from.  This  was  just  following  the  awful  Minnesota 
massacre,  so  people  were  ready  to  be  afraid.  Well,  finally,  after  re- 
fusing over  and  over  to  leave  home,  Mr.  Haight  came  and  forced  me 
into  his  wagon,  but  before  I  had  gone  a  mile  I  asserted  myself  and 
refused  to  go  further.  So.  Mr.  Haight  let  me  go  very  reluctantly 
and  home  I  came.  My  maid  had  been  at  the  family  washing  and 
when  she  flew  away  she  threw  the  clothes  right  and  left,  and  these 
I  began  sorting,  not  knowing  what  else  to  do,  keeping  a  sharp  lookout 
for  Indians  in  case  there  were  some,  which  I  did  not  believe  for  one 
moment,  and  there  were  none  anywhere  about,  and  before  many 
hours  had  elapsed  many  groups  of  people  went  home,  passing  our 
house — many  of  them  asserting  they  had  only  gone  down  town  shop- 
ping. 


Pencils  Forty  Years  Ago. 

Ten  cents  each  for  the  Faber  No.  2,  the  best  pencil  in  the  market, 
and  three  cents  each  for  unvarnished  basswood,  the  cheapest  and 
poorest.  But  American  made  pencils  came  to  the  front  and  the 
Dixon  and  Star  brought  the  best  to  five  cents  and  the  cheaper  ones 
to  two  for  a  cent  or  five  cents  a  grab.  To  swedge  out  a  piece  of 
metallic  lead  to  use  as  a  pencil  in  school,  was  the  experience  of  many 
people  on  our  streets  today.  A  serious  personal  encounter  occurred 
one  day  in  front  of  George  Henning's  store,  between  a  school  teacher 
in  the  town  of  Taycheedah  and  the  father  of  one  of  his  scholars, 
relative  to  a  part  of  a  pencil  which  the  teacher  was  charged  with 
pocketing  without  consent  of  the  owner. 


Methods  of  Preserving  Fruits. 

Most  ladies  of  today  would  laugh  at  the  processes  of  years  ago 
to  keep  fruits  for  future  use.  Ladies  of  the  long  ago  knew  nothing 
of  modern  methods  of  canning.  The  Mason  jar  was  unknown  and 
the  old  pound  for  pound  preserves  and  drying  methods  had  to  be 
used.  The  flies  had  their  full  share  in  the  work  but  maybe  we  were 
not  quite  so  sensitive  then.  Canning  factories  are  by  no  means  es- 
tablishments of  pioneer  days. 


Some  of  the  finest  elm  trees  in  the  city  used  to  stand  in  the  court 
house  yard,  but  the  burning  of  the  old  court  house  destroyed  a  num- 
ber of  them  and  the  filling  of  the  yard  wiped  out  the  rest  of  the  old 
timers. 


THE  HARD^VARE  TRADE 


Vicissitudes  of  the  Hardware  Business  in  Fond  du  Lac.     Who  Have 
Been  in  the  Trade  Here  From  the  First. 


The  hardware  trade  Hke  most  kinds  of  business,  has  had  many 
changes  since  the  pioneer  days  of  Fond  du  Lac.  Early  in  our  his- 
tory'we  had  no  hardware  stores.  A  few  nails  of  various  sizes,  a  few 
bars  of  iron  such  as  country  blacksmiths  use,  some  common  locks  and 
door  latches,  some  screws,  tacks,  hinges,  scythes  and  a  few  other 
things,  were  about  all  the  goods  needed  in  that  line  and  they  were 
kept  in  stock  in  the  general  stores,  mixed  with  dry  goods,  groceries, 
boots  and  shoes,  etc.  If  more  than  this  was  needed,  the  order  was 
given  to  John  Denny,  the  freighter,  who  brought  it  from  John 
Nazro,  of  Milawukee.  As  time  went  on,  the  population  increased, 
the  demand  was  larger  and  the  men  appeared  with  stocks  to  supply 
it.  When  the  service  of  the  general  merchant  ceased  to  be  satis- 
factory, the  hardware  dealer  came. 

The  hardware  dealer  has  been  compelled  to  enlarge  his  quarters 
very  much  and  the  number  of  articles  in  stock  have  multiplied,  and 
are  all  the  time  increasing.  Yet  there  are  hundreds  of  articles  missing 
that  were  formerly  in  the  stock  of  every  dealer.  What  the  end  of 
all  this  will  be,  no  one  can  tell,  but  it  must  end  somewhere.  The 
stores  are  crowded  with  goods  and  if  the  increase  in  new  articles  is 
to  continue,  something  must  be  cast  out  to  make  room.  The  remedy 
seems  to  be  and  has  already  been  applied  in  the  large  cities — separate 
heavy  and  shelf  hardware  and  make  each  a  class  of  business  by 
themselves.  In  early  days  there  was  no  trouble  in  this  direction. 
Keepers  of  general  stores  managed,  in  small  rooms,  to  supply  hard- 
ware to  meet  the  general  demand.  The  dealer  of  today  cannot  meet 
all  demands  on  him. 

The  early  settler  used  wood  pins  in  place  of  nails  or  spikes,  for 
many  purposes,  and  the  door  latches  were  also  of  wood,  home  made, 
and  the  locks,  if  they  had  any,  were  of  the  same  material,  some  of 
them  ingenious  contrivances.  The  writer  saw  one  on  a  door  in  the 
town  of  Oakneld,  that  for  ingenuity  was  a  marvel.  The  key  was 
made  of  a  piece  of  telegraph  wire,  and  it  might  bother  a  lock  expert 
of  the  present  to  lock  and  unlock  it,  but  worked  nicely  for  one  who 
knew  how  to  handle  it.  The  hinges  of  the  doors  to  these  rude 
houses  were  also  often  made  of  wood,  warranted  not  to  sag,  and  as 
to  sash  for  windows,  well,  they  often  had  none,  a  single  pane  of  glass, 
if  any,  serving  the  purpose  of  a  window.  The  people  of  today,  who 
can  drop  into  the  hardware  store  any  time,  have  little  idea  of  the 
trade  in  pioneer  days. 

For  many  years  the  well  known  hardware  store  under  the  firm 
name  of  Hughes  &  Otis,  has  been  in  existence  and  has  been  one  of 


38  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

the  heaviest  dealers  in  hardware  Fond  du  Lac  has  ever  had.  Both 
members  of  the  firm  came  from  the  noted  pioneer  hardware  store  of 
K.  J\I.  Hutchinson,  at  Oshkosh.  They  came  here  in  1873  'i^fl  began 
business  under  the  firm  name  of  Hughes  &  Otis.  In  1878  they  bought 
the  stock  of  Hall  &  Hoskins,  and  in  1883,  they  bought  the  large 
stock  of  C.  H.  Benton.  After  residing  here  nearly  ten  years,  Mr. 
Otis  went  to  Chicago,  where  he  engaged  in  business  until  the  firm 
here  bought  the  Benton  stock,  when  he  returned  to  Fond  du  Lac  for 
two  or  three  years ;  then  returned  to  Chicago  again  ;  he  died  there  in 
1898.  His  father  was  for  many  years  the  collector  for  the  great  New 
York  firm  of  H.  B.  Claflin  &  Co.,  and  Mr.  Otis  followed  him  for  a 
time,  but  the  west  was  his  field  of  work  and  he  came  here.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  companionable  men  Fond  du  Lac  people  ever  knew. 
John  Hughes  comes  from  the  sturdy  AVelsh  race  and  few  business 
men  here,  have  more  friends.  He  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  in 
1885  and  again  in  1904  without  opposition..  He  has  held  many  other 
positions  of  honor  and  responsibility.  As  a  business  man  he  is  al- 
ways reliable,  as  a  citizen  honorable.  Mr.  Hughes  bought  the  in- 
terest of  Mr.  Otis  in  1890  and  the  firm  was  dissolved. 

The  next  largest  stock  of  hardware  in  Fond  du  Lac  was  no 
doubt  that  of  C.  H.  Benton  &  Co.  The  company  of  this  firm  was  S. 
B.  Amory,  father-in-law  of  Mr.  Benton.  A  fine  building  expressly 
for  the  business,  was  erected,  but  for  some  reason  did  not  succeed 
and  the  stock  was  sold  to  Hughes  &  Otis. 

The  Benton  store  was  started  in  1868  imder  the  firm  name  of 
Alley  &  Benton,  by  purchase  of  the  stock  of  Alley  &  Bettis.  In  1870, 
the  firm  became  C.  H.  Benton  &  Co.,  and  in  1876  took  the  firm  name 
of  Benton  Hardware  Company.  The  store  was  first  opened  in  the 
north  store  of  Amory  Block,  but  in  1876  a  fine  building  was  erected 
expressly  for  the  business,  next  door  north.  In  1887  the  store  was 
■closed  out  to  Hughes  &  Otis.     Mr.  Benton  died  in  1890. 

In  1850  A.  D.  Ward  &  Co.  opened  a  small  hardware  stock,  and  it 
was  probably  the  first  straight  stock  of  hardware  in  Fond  du  Lac. 

In  1852  R.  R.  Deacon  opened  a  hardware  store  here,  which  was 
bought  by  Mr.  Bettis  in  1856,  and  this  store  continued  until  bought 
by  Alley  &  Benton,  in  1868. 

In  1854  William  Farnsworth  opened  a  heavy  stock  of  hardware, 
and  a  year  later  sold  a  one-half  interest  to  I.  S.  Sherwood,  the  firm 
being  Farnsworth  &  Sherwood.  In  1864,  having  started  the  La  Belle 
Wagon  Works,  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  store  to  his  brother,  James 
H.  Farnsworth,  and  the  firm  was  I.  S.  Sherwood  &  Co.  In  t868 
Sherwood  sold  to  Capt.  W.  A.  Knapp  and  the  firm  became  Farns- 
worth, Knapp  &  Co.'  This  firm  went  into  bankruptcy  in  1873  and 
the  stock  was  bid  in  by  Chapin  Hall  and  F.  B.  Hoskins,  the  firm  being 
Hall  &  Hoskins,  who^sold  to  Hughes  &  Otis  in  1878. 

In  1882  W.  Wilkie  and  George  P.  Dana  opened  in  the  north  store 
of  the  old  Darling  Block,  under  the  firm  name  of  Wilkie  &  Dana. 
Two  years  later  Mr.  Dana  withdrew  and  the*  firm  continued  W. 
Wilkie  &  Son.     Later  on  it  was  changed  to  Wilkie  Hardware  Co. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  39 

George  P.  Dana  opened  a  stock  in  his  own  name  in  1891.  Rusch 
Cc  Hirth  opened  a  fine  stock  in  the  Odd    Fellows'    Block    in    1898. 

Christian  A.  Lang  opened  opposite  the  ^^'indsor  House  in  1889. 

J.  F.  Wegner,  formerly  wdth  .alley  &  Bettis  and  C.  H.  Benton, 
opened  in  his  own  name  in  1887. 

Fond  du  Lac  has  six  hardware  stores,  all  of  w^iich  keep  stoves 
and  tinware.  The  tin  shops  do  not  make  tinware,  as  in  old  times, 
their  business  being  confined  mostly  to  jobbing.  The  stores  in  old 
times  of  K.  Gillet,  E.  Perkins,  W.  J.  Wallace,  Stephen  Oberreich 
and  A.  B.  Taylor,  have  no  counterpart  now.  Tinware  is  now  made 
in  large  factories  and  bought,  not  made  in  the  shops. 

The  huge  hardware  stock  in  the  store  of  John  Hughes  of  today, 
embraces  iron  and  steel  and  wagon  and  carriage  stock,  and  is  doubt- 
less the  largest  in  the  state  outside  of  Milwaukee,  and  John  Hughes 
himself,  is  no  doubt,  one  of  the  most  industrious  merchants  of  his 
age,  in  the  state. 


Relics  of  the  Past. 

Things  which  seem  commonplace  now,  in  after  years  become 
interesting  and  valuable  relics.  As  interesting  a  relic  as  one  often 
finds  is  in  possession  of  Hon.  H.  D.  Hitt,  at  Oakfield.  He  has  many 
such  relics,  but  there  is  one  of  more  than  common  interest.  It  is  an 
arithmetic  made  in  school  by  his  great  grandfather.  At  that  time 
books  were  scarce  and  school  instruction  was  imparted  orally.  In 
school  there  would  be  one  arithmetic  and  that  belonged  to  the 
teacher.  He  gave  out  the  work  and  the  scholar  took  it  down  on  his 
slate.  After  it  was  completed,  the  example  and  work  was  all  written 
out  with  a  quill  pen  on  fools  cap  paper.  The  latter  comprises  the 
arithmetic  before  alluded  to.  The  work  is  all  very  elaborately  en- 
rolled and  embraces  much  in  mathematics  that  is  now  never  heard  of. 
Some  of  the  processes  we  are  now  using  may  be  superceded  in  a  few 
years  by  better  ones.     Save  your  school  books  for  interesting  relics. 


The  Fountain  City  Herald. 

Royal  Buck  came  to  Fond  du  Lac  from  Madison  in  185 1  with 
the  Fountain  City  Herald,  which  he  published  for  three  years,  but 
it  was  not  a  success  and  was  sold  to  J.  A.  Smith,  and  with  the  West- 
ern Freeman,  already  owned  by  him,  became  the  Commonwealth. 
At  the  time  of  the  Pike's  Peak  gold  fever.  Buck  started  with  his 
family  for  that  region  in  a  covered  wagon,  drawn  by  a  team  com- 
posed of  an  ox  and  a  cow.  That  fall  they  reached  Nebraska  City, 
and  while  living  in  their  wagon  there  they  received  supplies  for  the 
winter  sent  by  Dr.  Darling,  Dr.  Wright  and  other  members  of  the 
Congregational  Church  of  this  city.  Buck  l5ravely  entered  upon 
the  work  of  opening  a  farm,  but  later  secured  a  position  in  the 
United  States  land  ofBce  at  Nebraska  City.  In  1861,  President 
Lincoln  made  him  register  of  that  office,  and  he  held  the  position  a 
number  of  years,  becoming  quite  well  off.  Royal  Buck  struggled 
against  adversity  and  finall}^  conquered. 


40  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

The  Old  Giltner  Place. 

It  is  very  doubtful  if  there  is  a  house  in  Fond  du  Lac  that  has 
gone  through  the  vicissitudes  of  approaching  destruction  and  been 
occupied  by  more  families  than  the  so  called  "Giltner  House"  on 
East  Second  street,  opposite  No.  i  engine  house.  In  the  fifty-eight 
years  of  its  existence,  it  has  suffered  from  fire,  lightning  and  wind, 
but  escaped  destruction.  It  was  twice  enlarged  after  it  was  built, 
was  occupied  for  a  time  by  four  families,  including  Jo.  Kings  and 
Steve  Buckland.  Father  Bonseuil,  the  early  Catholic  missionary,  held 
services  there,  the  "Giltner  girls"  had  a  millinery  and  dress  making 
shop  there  se^'eral  years,  a  picture  gallery  was  there,  many  transient 
doctors  had  rooms  there.  Mr.  Kellogg,  general  agent  for  the  New 
York  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Co.,  made  his  headquarters  there,  and 
W.  H.  Ebbets  at  one  time  had  his  law  office  in  the  building.  Of  the 
four  Giltner  girls,  some  or  all  of  them  lived  there  many  years.  At 
the  time  of  the  great  Main  street  fire  in  1852,  the  wind  dropped  burn- 
ing shingles  on  the  roof  and  it  was  on  fire  several  times.  Three  or 
four  times  in  its  history  the  house  was  on  lire  on  the  inside  and  twice 
was  struck  by  lightning.     Its  identity  was  changed  in  1903. 


Peat  Fifty  Years  Ago. 

The  operations  of  Dr.  Beebe  in  peat  reminds  the  old  settler  in 
Fond  du  Lac,  of  the  agitation  of  the  same  subject  in  the  early  fifties, 
l;)y  J.  W.  Whinfield,  who  had  given  some  attention  to  it  in  England. 
If  the  claims  of  Mr.  Whinfield  for  peat  as  fuel  for  domestic  use  and 
under  boilers  for  steam  could  be  half  realized,  it  would  be  more 
valuable  than  the  coal  fields.  In  an  article  from  him  printed  in  the 
Fond  du  Lac  Journal  at  the  time,  he  claimed  that  iron  had  been 
smelted  in  England  with  peat  fuel.  He  had  evidently  given  the 
subject  much  attention,  and  among  other  things  predicted  that  peat 
would  be  the  fuel  of  the  future  and  that  we  had  enough  in  the  peat 
beds  of  our  marshes  to  last  hundreds  of  years.  Our  wood  supply 
was  nearly  exhausted  at  that  time  and  transportation  made  coal  too 
costly.  Peat  was  the  coming  fuel  and  he  urged  the  people  to  assist 
in  developing  this  fuel  so  plentiful  at  our  very  doors. 

Rush  Lake  marsh,  near  Ripon,  is  an  almost  inexhaustible  peat 
bed,  and  an  attempt  was  made  in  1870,  to  utilize  it,  but  without  the 
proper  machinery,  buildings  or  money,  was  a  failure. 


A  Laundry  Not  Thought  Of. 

It  is  now  one  of  the  singular  facts  of  history  that  it  is  only  twenty- 
five  years  since  a  laundry  was  first  thought  of  for  Fond  du  Lac. 
Up  to  1879  the  young  men  had  had  to  look  to  a  washwoman  to 
launder  their  shirts  and  collars,  and  seldom  got  them  well  done.  The 
Chinamen  did  the  best  work  here  in  that  line  until  the  Ira  W. 
Hughes  launclry  was  opened,  and  a  little  later  the  Eureka. 


FIRE  DEPARTMENT 


Origin,     Development    and     Present     Status     of   the    Fond    du    Lac 

Fire    Department.      Some    Men    Who 

Have  Been  In  It. 


In  the  early  days  of  Fond  du-  Lac,  the  fighting  of  fires  was  de- 
pendent upon  the  personal  efforts  of  citizens  with  pails,  and  as  late 
as  1850  there  were  but  four  or  five  cisterns  for  fire  purposes  in  the 
town.  As  to  fires,  the  village  had  been  very  fortunate,  but  in  the 
winter  of  1852,  the  citizens  were  awakened  to  the  fact  that  something 
must  be  done  to  procure  fire  apparatus.  The  Davis  block,  nearly 
opposite  Forest  Avenue,  burned,  and  four  days  later  occurred  the 
fire  that  burned  the  east  side  of  Main  from  First  to  Second  streets, 
and  some  around  the  corner  of  Second.  Early  in  1853  old  No.  i 
engine  and  hose  cart  were  purchased,  and  a  year  later  Nos.  2  and  3 
were  bought.  Nos.  4  and  5  companies  were  organized  considerable 
later.  In  the  sixties,  when  the  steamers  came,  we  thought  we  were 
fixed  for  all  time,  but  it  remained  for  the  waterworks  to  come  and 
give  us  the  perfection  of  fire  service. 

In  the  earliest  days  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  fire  department,  engine 
old  No.  I  and  accompanying  hose  cart,  were  housed  on  the  west  side 
of  Main  street  opposite  Third  and  over  the  ravine.  K.  A.  Darling 
was  the  first  foreman  of  the  company,  and  D.  W.  C.  Wright  was  the 
first  hose  captain.  The  first  steamer  was  also  housed  there  for  a  time. 
The  boys  used  to  congregate  there  evenings  and  have  a  lively  time. 
North  of  the  engine  house  was  J.  L.  Ault's  shop,  where  he  made 
lightning  rods  and  made  and  repaired  steel  plows.  Barnett  had  a 
cabinet  shop  on  the  ground  where  Blankenburg  was  so  many  years, 
but  the  store  and  shop  of  Mr.  Blankenburg  was  then  on  the  east  side 
of  Main  street. 

When  Fond  du  Lac  bought  its  first  fire  apparatus,  old  No.  i, 
which  was  given  the  name  of  Washington  Volunteer  Fire  Co.  No.  i, 
in  the  summer  of  1854,  Azro  Taylor  was  chosen  first  fire  chief,  and 
held  the  office  several  years.  He  was  succeeded  by  Allan  Carswell. 
a  dry  goods  man  of  the  firm  of  Carswell  &  Dee.  a  stubborn  Scotchman 
but  a  good  fire  fighter.  Next  came  Alex.  \\'hite,  and  since  then 
numerous  men  have  served  in  that  ofiice,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  any 
have  been  more  efficient.  In  1856  we  got  two  Waterford  engines. 
Fountain  City  No.  2,  Foreman  E.  S.  Bragg,  located,  on  Division 
street,  and  Winnebago  No.  3,  Foreman  C.  R.  Harrison,  located  at 
Arndt  and  Brooke  streets,  where  No.  3  is  yet.  We  then  felt  compe- 
tent to  fight  almost  any  fire,  yet  in  i860  we  bought  a  steam  fire 
engine,  an  Amoskeog  machine,  put  it  in  charge  of  No.  i  company  and 
Johnny   Hardenburg  as   engineer  to  run   it.      Later  on  the   self-pro- 


42  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

peller  Alex.  ^Mlite  was  bought  and  we  have  that  machine  yet,  but 
not  as  a  self-propeller — that  feature  was  soon  abandoned. 

One  night  the  engine  house  took  fire  and  among  the  damages  to 
be  invoiced  was  the  burning  of  two  of  the  wheels  of  the  steamer. 
George  Pike,  the  engineer  of  the  steamer,  was  mad  beyond  endurance, 
but  he  got  over  it  after  a  few  days.  The  engine  house  was  then 
moved  to  West  Second  street,  to  about  where  the  gas  office  is  now. 
This  building  was  not  strong  enough  for  the  rough  usage  and  weight 
it  had  to  carry,  and  Chief  ]\Iarshal  A.  B.  Taylor,  by  direction  of  the 
council,  at  last  provided  quarters  to  be  permanent,  by  sending  No.  i 
to  where  it  is  now  and  has  been  for  more  than  thirt}^  years. 

In  the  meantime  another  steamer  was  bought  and  housed  with 
No.  2,  No.  I  still  having  the  first  steamer.  Moses  Nightengale  was  the 
engineer  of  the  new  machine.  But  not  long  after  agitation  began  for 
the  purchase  of  a  self-propeller  and  a  committee  was  sent  to  an 
Illinois  city  where  one  was  in  use,  to  inquire  about  it.  This  com- 
mittee, with  Alex.  White  at  the  head,  reported  favorably  and  the 
machine  was  purchased  and  Johnny  Hardenburg  was  appointed  en- 
gineer to  run  it.  At  its  first  fire  on  Portland  street,  it  got  stuck  in 
the  mud  so  tight  that  the  self-propelling  machinery  could  not  pull  it 
out  and  horses  had  to  be  used.  In  fact  it  was  soon  found  that  our 
streets  were  not  sufficiently  improved  for  such  a  machine  and  the 
self-propelling  feature  was  abandoned.  Tt  was  named  Alex.  White, 
and  its  main  merit  was  that  it  could  pump  a  very  large  amount  of 
water.  In  this  year  of  1905,  the  city  still  owns  this  machine  and 
No.  I  steamer.  After  the  coming  of  the  Alex.  White,  No.  i  was 
transferred  to  No.  3  house.  Fire  Company  No.  4,  located  on  Military 
street,  afterwards  at  the  five  points,  and  it  got  the  old  No.  i  machine 
while  No.  i  house  took  the  Hook  and  Ladder  apparatus.  No.  5  Fire 
Company  was  also  formed  and  located  on  Main  street,  where  it  is  yet. 
It  was  composed  of  husky  middletown  young  men,  but  lasted  only  a 
few  years  as  a  distinct  volunteer  organization.  At  the  county  fair  in 
1875,  No.  2  and  No.  4  competed  for  a  silver  trum]>et  in  making  a 
half  mile  run  and  laying  500  feet  of  hose.  No.  4  won  and  the  men  of 
that  company  thought  they  were  entitled  to  the  care  of  No.  2 
steamer,  and  as  they  did  not  get  it,  they  disbanded.  But  the  beginning 
of  the  end  of  the  volunteer  fire  department  was  at  hand.  Jealousy 
had  crept  in  more  or  less  all  around  and  culminated  on  July  4,  1877. 
Nos.  I  and  2  wanted  Azro  Taylor  for  Chief  Fire  Marshal,  and  Nos. 
3  and  5  wanted  George  P.  Dana.  The  latter  was  elected  and  the 
order  for  the  department  to  turn  out  for  the  4tli  July  parade,  came 
from  him.  Rebellion  was  abroad  and  when  the  parade  reached 
Second  street.  No.  i  left  the  ranks  and  disbanded.  In  a  year  from  this 
time  all  the  old  companies  were  disljanded.  The  council  looked  upon 
it  indifferently,  as  horses  were  now  in  use  to  haul  the  machines  and 
drag  ropes  were  of  little  use.  A  paid  department  was  then  ]:)Ut  into 
service  and  has  continued  ever  since  most  efficiently. 

When  the  waterworks  came  in  1885,  there  was  practically  an 
end  of  pumping  by  engines  and  our  No.  2  steamer  was  sold,  as  well 
as  the  hand  machines.     The  Alex.  White  is  kept  in  repair  and  ready 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  43 

for  emergencies,  but  No.  i  would  need  overhauling  if  desired  for  use. 
For  some  years  the  Hook  and  Ladder  house  was  on  East  First  street, 
where  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Payne  now  stands,  but  it  has  not  been 
there  since  1882.  The  No.  2  house  is  now  and  has  been  for  some  3-ears 
a  modest  but  neat  dwelling  on  the  north  side  of  Division  street,  near 
Main.  No.  4  house  has  also  been  a  dwelling  on  ^lilitary  street  for 
many  years.  Nos.  i,  3  and  5  are  in  daily  use  by  the  department. 
They  have  been  changed  and  repaired  many  times,  but  with  the 
waterworks  system  there  is  less  wear  and  tear.  With  forty  to  sixty 
men  making  the  engine  house  headquarters  for  recreation  as  well  as 
business,  running  out  the  machine  every  few  nights  for  practice,  and 
the  general  roughness  which  all  this  naturally  brings,  is  suggestive 
of  frequent  repairs.  But  who  will  imagine  that  the  old  Volunteer 
Fire  Department  did  not  fulfill  an  important  mission  and  do  an  im- 
portant work.  Complaints  of  inefficiency  were  sometimes  heard,  but 
they  may  have  originated  in  the  talk  of  croakers,  while  sensible 
people  remembered  the  sort  of  appliances  they  had  to  work  with  and 
the  many  difficulties  they  had  to  encounter,  and  especially  as  to 
water  supply.  But  there  is  another  feature  to  be  put  into  the  credit 
side  of  the  ledger  in  making  up  the  account  of  the  old  fire  department. 
The  engine  houses  kept  many  men  from  loafing  in  saloons,  barrooms 
and  on  street  corners.  The  men  were  interested  in  their  fire  com- 
panies, and  almost  nightly  could  be  found  at  their  engine  houses  in 
association  with  their  fellows.  The  department  did  fulfill  a  mission 
other  than  that  of  fire  fighting. 

From  the  time  the  Fond  du  Lac  Volunteer  Fire  Department  was 
organized  in  1853,  until  1859,  when  the  steamers  came  and  the  boys 
no  longer  "run  wid  der  masheen."  the  firemen's  dances  were  a 
marked  social  feature  every  winter.  They  had  the  earnest  support 
of  the  best  class  of  citizens  and  were  under  the  control  of  men  of 
high  standing.  IMost  of  these  firemen's  dances  were  arranged  and 
were  under  the  control  of  Fire  Company  No.  i,  but  No.  2  had  them 
occasionally.  No.  3  still  less  frequent  and  No.  4  seldom  or  never. 
No.  I  seemed  to  be  composed  largely  of  dancing  men.  No.  2,  with 
Gen.  Bragg  as  foreman,  was  composed  of  business  men  who  cared 
little  for  dancing.  No.  3  was  a  lower  town  organization  of  leading 
men,  headed  by  C.  R.  Harrison,  Alex.  White  and  B.  F.  Sweet,  and 
No.  4  had  a  sort  of  sickly  existence  of  a  few  years  at  the  "five  points." 
For  foreman  at  different  times.  No.  i  had  Geo.  W.  Sawyer,  A.  B. 
Taylor,  J.  V.  ^IcCall,  Ed.  J.  Hodges  and  D.  W.  C.  Wrigjit.  Among 
the  hose  captains  were  Milt.  Ewen,  Tom  Green,  Tom  Weeks  and 
Fred  Kalk.  Truly  was  old  No.  i  a  lively  set  of  fellows.  But  in  1858 
the  city  got  its  first  fire  steamer  and  the  downfall  of  the  old  fire  de- 
partment began  and  the  grand  old  firemen's  dances  ceased.  The  last 
one  seems  to  have  been  in  January,  1861,  in  Amory  Hall. 

Adelbert  Coffman,  present  Chief  Fire  Marshal,  has  been  a  fire 
fighter  in  this  city  since  boyhood,  a  period  of  about  thirty-five  years. 
He  knows  the  department  and  its  work,  almost  from  the  beginning. 


44  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Death  of  Ira  Schoolcraft. 

News  comes  of  the  death  of  Ira  Schoolcraft,  one  of  the  old  time 
citizens  and  business  men  of  Fond  du  Lac,  who  died  May  14,  at  the 
residence  of  his  son-in-law,  Henry  B.  Fargo,  in  Chicago.  Mr.  Fargo 
was  also  a  former  well  known  citizen  here.  Mr.  Schoolcraft  came 
to  Fond  du  Lac  in  1853  and  opened  a  shoe  store  and  shoe  shop.  He 
resided  for  some  years  on  the  south  side  of  Third  street,  near  Marr, 
and  was  noted  for  the  fine  garden  on  his  home  lot.  During  his  resi- 
dence there  an  accident  occurred  which  showed  some  Christianity  and 
brotherly  feeling  in  Fond  du  Lac.  One  summer  just  as  his  garden 
was  getting  nicely  started,  Mr.  Schoolcraft  had  a  malignant  frog 
felon  come  in  the  palm  of  his  right  hand.  Of  course  he  suffered  in- 
tensely and  it  lasted  two  or  three  months.  During  this  time  the 
shoemakers  of  the  town  banded  together  and  not  only  cared  for  his 
garden  by  work  evenings  and  mornings,  but  also  harvested  and  cared 
for  his  crop  in  the  fall. 

The  family  moved  to  Chicago  in  1863,  and  Mrs.  Schoolcraft 
died  in  190T,  after  a  married  life  with  Mr.  Schoolcraft  of  sixty  years. 
Old  time  citizens  well  remember  the  family. 


Water  Was  Let  Out. 

On  a  Sunday  evening  in  1862,  when  Elder  Rogers  was  pastor 
of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Fond  du  Lac,  there  was  an  unusual  occur- 
rence. There  were  to  be  some  baptisms  that  evening,  and  the  weather 
being  very  cold  the  chill  was  taken  from  the  water  in  an  adjoining 
room  and  then  the  water  was  run  into  the  baptistry  under  the  pulpit. 
Just  before  the  service  was  to  begin.  Deacon  Perkins  looked  into  the 
baptistry  to  see  that  all  was  right,  and  to  his  horror  he  found  that  it 
was  empty.  Some  one  had  pulled  the  plug  and  let  the  water  out. 
It  was  too  late  to  remedy  it  and  of  course  there  was  no  baptism, 
but  at  the  close  of  the  service  Elder  Rogers  gave  the  perpetrator  of 
the  joke  as  severe  a  scoring  as  was  ever  heard.  It  was  severel  years 
before  it  was  known  to  a  certainty  who  did  it,  and  it  is  just  as  well 
not  to  mention  names  now.  Elder  Rogers  was  chaplain  of  the 
Fourteenth   regiment  during  the  civil  war. 


Gen.  Hamilton  a  Veteran. 

Gen.  C.  S.  Hamilton  came  to  Fond  du  Lac  in  the  spring  of  1850 
and  built  and  occupied  the  house  on  the  east  side  of  Sophia  street 
next  north  of  the  Howie  house.  Mrs.  Hamilton's  name  was  Sophia 
and  the  street  was  named  for  her.  Gen.  Hamilton  was  a  graduate 
of  West  Point  and  up  to  1861  he  was  known  to  everybody  in  Fond 
du  Lac  as  Capt.  Hamilton.  He  was  in  the  Mexican  war  of  1846  and 
1847  ^s  a  captain  in  the  regular  army,  but  resigned  his  commission 
in  1849  to  come  west.  He  was  made  colonel  of  the  Third  Wisconsin 
Infantry  in  1861,  and  later  was  promoted  to  brigadier  general  and 
finally  to  major  general.  He  had  an  oil  mill  here  which  he  moved  to 
Milwaukee. 


BOOT  AND  SHOE  TRADE 


Early    Shoe    Stores   and   Who    Owned   Them.      Peculiarities   of   the 

Trade  to  the  Present.     Busy  Class 

of  Men. 


The  trade  in  boots  and  shoes  from  the  early  days  to  the  present, 
has  undergone  greater  and  more  frequent  changes  than  any  other. 
Changes  in  styles  come  with  the  seasons  and  methods  of  handling 
the  trade  come  and  go.  In  the  early  days  of  Fond  du  Lac  all  the 
stores  kept  boots  and  shoes,  and  a  store  handling  only  these  goods, 
was  almost  unknown.  The  men  wore  boots  almost  without  excep- 
tion, and  women's  shoes  were  made  of  cloth  or  cheap  leather.  Thirty 
years  ago  we  had  Edwin  C.  Burt's  shoes  for  women,  no  doubt  the 
best  grade  of  goods  ever  sold  here  and  the  highest  in  price.  But 
this  was  one  of  the  vicissitudes  of  the  trade.  Great  as  was  the  de- 
mand at  the  time,  they  went  out  of  sight  and  Burt's  goods  have  not 
been  in  the  market  in  many  years.  And  the  pernella  cloth  shoes  for 
ladies  and  sometimes  for  men  too,  disappeared  about  i860,  and  have 
not  been  seen  here  since  as  a  regular  line  of  goods.  Previous  to 
(that  date  all  the  dry  goods  stores  kept  them.  A  shoe  store  as  we 
know  them  now,  was  almost  unknown.  Foot  wear  that  could  not 
be  purchased  at  the  general. store,  had  to  be  made  at  the  shop  of  the 
shoemaker,  and  these  shops  were  numerous.  The  best  shop  Fond  du 
Lac  had  was  owned  by  John  Hale  and  H.  E.  Stilwell,  under  the 
name  of  Hale  &  Stilwell.  The  shop  was  in  a  wood  building  that 
stood  on  Main  street,  about  where  Geo.  P.  Dana's  hardware  store  is 
now.  The  men  employed  never  numbered  less  than  six  and  most  of 
the  time  a  dozen.  Jack  Cole  and  Henry  Aiiller  were  the  makers  of 
men's  fine  French  calf  boots  and  both  boasted  that  he  made  the 
handsomest  and  best  hue  boot  in  town.  Charley  Arlin,  O.  S.  Leonard 
and  Ad.  Lovett  worked  on  "bats,"  the  nickname  of  the  times,  for 
women's  and  children's  shoes.  George  Driggs  and  Fred  Tyler  held 
seats  for  kip  work  and  Felix  Rodgers,  Pete  Shoemaker,  Herman 
Meese  and  others  had  the  stogas — boots  and  other  coarse  work.  That 
Hale  &  Stilwell  shop  was  a  lively  place  and  the  boys  who  worked 
there  made  it  lively  for  a  new  comer.  In  the  old  fashioned  Shoe 
shops,  when  a  new  man  unpacked  his  "kit,"  he  was  expected  to  "pay 
his  block,"  which  meant  that  he  must  treat  all  the  hands.  The  treat 
need  not  necessarily  be  liquor,  but  anything  he  pleased.  So  rooted 
was  this  practice  that  a  new  man  found  it  much  cheaper  to  treat  than 
to  bear  the  burden  of  refusal.  Almost  all  the  villages  and  cross 
roads  had  their  shoe  shops  instead  of  the  one  man  cobbler  of  today. 
Mann  &  Hoyt,  afterward  F.  E.  &  E.  Hoyt,  and  McBride  &  Kellogg 
were  the  first  stores  that  dealt  exclusively  in  boots  and  shoes.     But 


46  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

the  changes  continued  to  come  and  finally  we  have  come  to  the 
period  when  shoes  are  the  only  goods  made  and  sold  and  the  boot 
for  men,  is  banished  from  sight  and  sale.  The  shoemaker's  shop  for 
the  making  of  foot  wear  to  measure  is  also  well  nigh  banished,  and 
those  still  existing  are  mainl}-  devoted  to  fitting  cripples  and  de- 
formed feet,  and  neighborhood  cobbling.  The  shoemaker  has  not 
much  of  a  place  in  modern  industries.  The  factory  and  the  shoe 
store  have  compelled  him  to  seek  other  emplo3'ment.  What  the  next 
change  will  be  we  cannot  even  guess,  but  we  may  be  sure  that  it  will 
not  be  a  restoration  of  the  shoemaker  to  his  lost  estate  in  the  shop. 

The  veteran  shoe  dealer  in  Fond  du  Lac  is  M.  Fitzsimons, 
now  Fitzsimons  &  Sons,  for  many  years  well  known  to  all  who 
bu}'  goods  here.  Mr.  Fitzsimons  began  the  business  here  in  1854, 
in  a  building  that  once  stood  near  the  corner  of  Main  and  East 
Second  streets,  on  the  land  now  vacant.  He  and  Martin  Sasse  were 
partners  in  the  business  many  3'ears  and  when  dissolved,  Mr.  Fitz- 
simons moved  to  the  west  side  of  Main  street,  a  few  doors  south  of 
First  street,  where  he  remained  fourteen  years  and  until  1896, 
when  their  present  beautiful  store  was  completed  on  the 
northwest  corner  of  Main  and  West  First  streets,  on  the 
site  of  the  old  Darling's  block,  they  moved  their  store  to 
that  place.  It  was  fifty-six  years  on  the  12th  of  July,  1905, 
since  Maurice  Fitzsimons  entered  the  shoe  business  in  Fond  du 
Lac.  Surely  is  he  a  veteran  and  a  successful  one.  He  has  experienced 
the  ups  and  downs  of  all  sorts  and  especially  in  the  shoe  trade. 

In  1867,  twelve  years  later,  W.  H.  Egelhofif  opened  the  shoe 
business  here  and  has  been  in  it  ever  since.  He  also  may  be  ranked 
as  a  veteran.  His  sons  are  now  in  charge  of  the  business,  but  Mr. 
Egelhof?  still  gives  it  much  attention.  The  building  occupied  by 
W.  H.  Egelhoff  &  Co.,  is  owned  by  them  and  has  been  fitted  to  suit 
their  trade.  The  first  twelve  years  of  his  business  here,  Mr.  Egelhoff 
made  foot  wear  to  order  only.  He  carried  on  a  shoe  shop,  and  often 
employed  six  to  ten  men,  but  in  1879  ^e  started  a  small  store. 

The  store  of  the  C.  F.  Youmans  Shoe  Company  was  started  in 
1875  t>y  J.  J.  Odekirk,  but  in  1878  became  the  property  of  C.  F.  You- 
mans, and  has  thus  remained  ever  since.  J.  G.  Youmans,  a  brother, 
opened  a  shoe  store  here  in  1863,  but  left  the  business  in  1878,  after 
fifteen  years.  C.  F.  Youmans  is  a  full  and  complete  Badger.  He 
was  born  and  raised  in  Wisconsin  and  was  never  in  any  other  busi- 
ness. 

Up  to  1874  nearly  all  men  wore  boots,  but  in  ten  years  the  de- 
mand had  so  nearly  ceased  that  many  of  the  shoe  stores  ceased  to 
have  them  in  stock.  The  Stickney  boot  had  a  large  sale,  but  Mr. 
Stickney  said  that  in  the  two  years,  1878  to  1880,  the  demand  de- 
creased to  the  extent  that  they  closed  the  factory.  And  the  shoe 
shops  disappeared  about  the  same  time,  so  that  there  was  only  here 
and  there  a  shop  left,  and  maybe  a  solitary  cobbler  on  his  bench  in 
the  rear  of  the  shoe  stores.  The  explanation  is  all  in  the  one  word 
"factory."  The  question  naturally  arises,  who  will  do  even  the  cob- 
bling in  the  future?     No  one  is  learning  the  trade. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  47 

C.  J.  Pettibone  &  Co.  were  dealers  in  boots  and  shoes  from  the 
opening  of  their  store  in  i860.  It  was  a  dry  goods  store,  not  a  shoe 
store,  but  carried  a  stock  of  shoes  to  the  time  of  closing  out  in  1893. 

L.  J.  Venne  and  Peter  Scholl  opened  a  shoe  store  in  1871,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Venne  &  Scholl.  Some  changes  took  place  until 
1893,  when  it  was  closed  out.  This  store  had  a  large  and  fine  stock 
and  a  heavy  trade.  The  sons  of  Mr.  Venne  have  since  had  shoe 
stores. 

C.  W.  Seaver  was  a  heavy  dealer  in  boots  and  shoes  and  had  a 
large  trade,  but  he  failed  in  1875  and  the  store  ceased.  Ill  health 
caused  it. 

C.  W.  Haskell  began  the  business  here  in  1874  and  continued  in 
trade  many  years.  His  stock  was  mainly  of  shoes  for  women  and 
children,  and  he  had  a  fine  business  which  was  closed  out  in   1890. 

Leland  &  Alden,  Barber  &  Kent  and  Frank  Miller  had  shoe 
stores  here,  but  were  not  long  in  existence.  W.  F.  Georg  was  for 
several  years  with  Mr.  Youmans,  but  bought  the  Venne  stock  when 
it  was  closed  out,  and  now  manages  as  fine  a  store  as  there  is  in  the 
city. 

The  shoe  company  organized  by  local  capital  in  1880,  was  pros- 
perous for  a  time,  and  made  a  nice  line  of  goods,  but  bad  manage- 
ment brought  it  to  grief.  It  was  bought  by  C.  M.  Henderson  &  Co., 
of  Chicago,  who  moved  it  to  Illinois.  The  factory  was  in  operation 
here  about  eight  years. 

But  the  grandest  movement  here  in  the  shoe  business,  was  the 
establishment  of  the  large  M.  D.  Wells  factory,  in  1902.  The  large 
and  beautiful  building  occupied  by  it  was  erected  with  local  capital 
and  much  of  the  stock  is  held  by  Fond  du  Lac  citizens. 

There  are  a  few  shoemakers'  shops  in  the  city  that  make  foot 
wear  to  order,  of  which  that  of  M.  Herbert,  on  East  Second  street, 
is  the  principal  one.  All  of  the  old  timers,  Peter  Servatius,  George 
Wright,  W.  H.  Bischofif,  Hale  &  Stilwell,  Leonard  &  Arlin,.  Ad. 
Lovett,  W.  B.  Tyler,  Peter  Shoemaker,  Ira  Schoolcraft,  John  Rott- 
man,  Pat.  Caufield  and  others,  have  ceased  to  exist  and  their  owners 
are  all  dead.  Peter  Scholl  came  here  with  his  father,  Jacob  Scholl,  in 
1846,  unable  to  speak  the  language  of  the  country,  and  began  mak- 
ing foot  wear.  Peter  Scholl  still  sticks  to  his  shoe  bench  and  is  the 
oldest  shoemaker  in  Fond  du  Lac.  Mr.  Egelhofif  has  a  man  in  his 
employ,  Mr.  Gerhard,  who  has  worked  for  him  thirty-seven  5'ears, 
and  is  there  yet.  Everett  &  Koerner  and  William  Welch  were  old 
time  dealers  in  shoes  and  the  store  now  conducted  by  Whittaker  & 
Cromwell,  was  established  several  years  ago  by  Charles  Meade. 


Where  Was  Your  Tinware  Made? 
Since  the  war  of  the  rebellion  there  has  been  very  little  home- 
made tinware  seen  in  Fond  du  Lac.  It  now  comes  from  large  fac- 
tories and  at  nearly  one-half  former  prices.  It  is  needless  to  say 
that  it  is  but  about  one-half  the  value.  Except  for  dairy  use  and  on 
special  orders,  no  tinware  is  now  made  in  Fond  du  Lac. 


48  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Early  Days  Fishing. 

There  was  a  time  when  if  the  P^ond  du  Lac  boys  went  fishing 
or  hunting  they  seldom  returned  empty-handed.  Out  in  the  country 
in  any  direction  they  would  get  prairie  chickens  and  with  net  at  the 
Bissell  mill  dam,  or  at  First  street  bridge,  or  with  hook  and  line 
below  Scott  street  bridge,  or  at  Luco,  could  be  had  a  supply  of  fish. 
Prairie  chickens  are  not  obtainable  and  the  realization  of  a  nice  string 
of  fish  belongs  to  the  angler  of  long  ago.  Shoulder  your  fish  pole 
some  day  and  try  your  luck.  It  is  possible,  even  probable,  that  you 
will  come  home  without  having  had  a  nibble.^  Hunting  and  fishing 
are  far  from  what  they  were.  Game  is  scarce  compared  to  former 
times.  The  laws  protecting  fish  and  game  came  too  late  for  sports- 
men. 


Queer  But  Not  a  Fool. 

A  very  peculiar  character  among  the  boarders  at  the  Cottage 
in  1 85 1  was  a  German  named  Yost,  a  parlor  chair  maker  who  worked 
in  the  cabinet  shop  of  Charles  Blankenburg.  Yost  was  cordial  with 
the  boys,  yet  exceedingly  diffident  and  remarkably  peculiar  in  his 
motions.  He  was  a  very  odd  genius  and  very  fond  of  the  girls.  One 
day  Lon  Blake,  the  circus  performer,  put  on  a  dress  and  bonnet  and 
took  a  seat  in  the  parlor  waiting  for  Yost  to  come  to  dinner.  When 
he  came  one  of  the  boys  told  him  there  was  a  lady  in  there  waiting 
for  him.  He  opened  the  door  but  almost  instantly  wheeled  and  went 
off  up  stairs  to  his  room.  When  he  was  asked  about  the  lady  he  re- 
plied :  "He  no  girl,  you  can't  fool  me."  Yost  in  some  unknown  way 
detected  the  trick,  but  how  he  would  never  tell.  The  joke  was  on 
the  boys,  not  on  Yost,  and  it  was  a  long  time  before  they  tried  any 
more  on  him. 


Bullis  Was  a  Practical  Joker. 

When  a  young  man,  N.  L.  Bullis  began  his  business  career  in 
Fond  du  Lac  as  a  clerk  in  the  general  store  of  Parker  &  Prettyman, 
He  learned  to  speak  French  and  became  a  valuable  clerk,  but  after 
some  years  opened  a  store  of  his  own,  and  still  later  entered  upon 
the  livery  business  which  he  continued  until  failing  health  compelled 
him  to  give  it  up.  His  S3'mpathy  for  any  one  in  distress  was  un- 
bounded, yet  he  was  a  practical  joker  of  more  than  ordinary  keen- 
ness. When  such  a  joke  was  to  be  planned  the  aid  of  Nels  Bullis 
was  sought.  He  was  the  genius  of  the  town  in  that  line,  and  if  any 
one  was  severely  sold  it  was  regarded  as  certain  that  he  was  in  it. 
Who  of  the  older  settlers  does  not  remember  N.  L.  Bullis? 


When  the  late  Frank  B.  Floskins  was  Register  of  Deeds,  he  did 
as  much  if  not  more  than  any  other  one  man  to  further  the  work  for 
the  new  court  house.     He  was  then  a  young  man  but  a  worker. 


THE  EARLIEST  SETTLER 


Of  those  Who  Came  to  This  County  in  1836,  is  Entitled  to  the  Honor 
of  Being  the   First   Settler. 


The  First  Settler. 

Gen.  Albert  G.  Ellis  came  to  Green  Bay  as  the  government  sur- 
veyor in  1828.  Jo.  King  came  from  Canada  and  met  Gen.  Ellis  at 
Mackinaw.  The  latter  desired  to  engage  some  hardy  French  voy- 
ageurs  to  assist  him  in  his  work,  and  Jo.  King  was  one  of  them.  In 
1832  they  meandered  the  east  shore  of  Lake  Winnebago,  and  in  1833 
the  west  shore.  Gen.  Ellis  died  at  Stevens  Point  in  1887,  where  the 
writer  of  this  interviewed  him  a  number  of  times.  He  asked  about 
Jo.  King  and  seemed  to  think  a  great  deal  of  him.  He  remembered 
him  well  and  told  many  stories  about  him,  mostly  jokes  that  had  im- 
pressed him. 

What  is  now  the  Ingall's  farm,  south  of  the  city,  was  the  first 
Fond  du  Lac  home  of  Jo.  King.  His  entry  certificate  of  the  land 
bears  date  of  the  Green  Bay  land  office  in  1836.  He  improved  the 
farm  some  and  in  1838  built  a  log  house  on  it.  In  1839  he  was 
married  to  Mrs.  ^lay  by  Justice  of  the  Peace  John  Bannister.  He 
moved  into  his  house  at  once,  and  here  it  was  that  Mrs.  A.  \\'.  Chap- 
man, of  West  Johnson  street,  was  born  February  3,  1840,  unquestion- 
ably the  first  white  girl  baby  born, in  this  county.  John  A.  Bannister 
was  born  in  1839,  and  was  the  first  child  born  in  the  county.  The 
writer  has  verified  these  as  facts  beyond  question.  The  only  way  to 
get  at  the  facts  in  these  matters,  is  to  ascertain  and  give  dates  of 
events.  In  the  summer  of  1839,  ]\Irs.  King  visited  relatives  at  Pe- 
waukee.  and  was  the  first  white  woman  to  pass  over  the  trail  on 
horseback.  Soon  after  this  the  Pier  twins,  the  late  Col.  C.  K.  Pier 
and  Mrs.  Skinner,  now  in  Chicago,  were  born,  and  were  the  first 
twins  in  the  county.  Later  on  Jo.  King  traded  this  farm  for  one  in 
Eden,  which  his  estate  still  owns.  As  he  entered  this  land  in  1836 
and  actually  worked  on  it,  built  a  house  there  and  lived  in  it  in  1838, 
Jo.  King  may  be  regarded  as  the  first  settler.  After  leaving  the 
farm,  about  1842.  he  came  to  the  city  and  lived  in  what  was  known 
as  the  old  Giltner  house,  opposite  Xo.  i  engine  house,  on  Second 
street,  in  1903  made  into  a  modern  house.  Only  four  families  lived 
in  it  in  the  early  forties.  For  many  years  Jo.  King,  Steve  Buckland 
and  John  Denny  did  most  of  the  freighting  between  Milwaukee,  She- 
boygan and  Fond  du  Lac.  When  Edward  and  Colwert  Pier  first 
came  through  from  Green  Bay,  they  found  Jo.  King  at  Brothertown. 

Mrs.  May,  whom  Jo.  King  married  and  who  was  the  mother  of 
Mrs.  Chapman,  had    a  by  no  means  pleasing  pioneer  experience  when 


50  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

she  came  to  this  county.  She  came  in  1838  with  the  Darling  family, 
in  a  batteaux  from  Green  Bay,  landing  near  the  Fond  du  Lac  House, 
at  Brooke  street  and  the  railroad  bridge.  Mrs.  Chapman  can  go  to 
the  spot,  it  having  been  pointed  out  to  her  by  her  mother.  While 
Airs.  May  came  by  water,  Mr.  May  started  overland,  to  view  the 
country.  Several  days  after  he  should  have  been  here,  a  young  half 
l)reed  came  and  reported  to  Dr.  Darling  and  John  Bannister,  the 
finding  by  him  of  a  dead  man  sitting  against  a  tree  near  Stockbridge. 
They  went  out  with  a  team,  but  decay  had  gone  so  far,  in  the  hot  June 
weather,  that  the  body  could  not  be  moved  and  was  buried  there. 
The.  supposition  was  that  he  died  of  exhaustion.  Most  of  the  papers 
taken  from  his  pockets,  including  his  marriage  certificate,  are  now 
in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Chapman  and  have  been  shown  to  the 
writer.  It  is  stated  by  some  writers  of  Fond  du  Lac  history,  that 
the  Darling  family  landed  at  Sheboygan  and  came  here  overland. 
This  is  surely  an  error,  as  the  proof  is  clear  that  they  landed  at  Green 
Bay. 

From  the  facts  obtainable  there  seeems  to  be  no  doubt  about  Jo. 
King  being  the  first  individual  settler.  It  is  true  that  Edward  and 
Colwert  Pier  were  here  in  1836,  but  they  at  that  time  only  decided 
upon  their  land  and  did  not  enter  it  until  later  in  the  year.  ,The  date 
of  the  King  entry  certificate  shows  that  his  entry  was  first.  At  any 
rate  they  were  so  nearly  together  as  to  make  it  hardly  worth  while 
to  quarrel  over  it.  As  the  modern  saying  has  it,  "they  came  early 
and  stayed  late."    Joseph  King  died  in  1884,  at  the  age  of  69  years. 

The  great  influx  of  population  of  Fond  du  Lac  county  was  from 
1850  to  1856,  many  came  in  1848  and  1849,  but  the  greater  number 
of  pioneer  farmers  came  between  1842  and  1848.  A  few  came  from 
1838  to  1842  and  a  still  less  number  previous  to  that  date.  Those  of 
the  earlier  period  have  now  all  passed  away,  but  their  successors  are 
enjoying  the  labor  of  their  hands. 

It  is  pleasant  to  the  writer  of  these  facts,  to  remember  that  he 
was  able  to  visit  with  Gen.  A.  G.  Ellis  several  times  at  Stevens  Point, 
in  the  last  years  of  his  life.  He  was  surveyor  general  of  the  territory 
of  Wisconsin  under  the  administration  of  Gen.  Jackson,  and  started 
the  Green  Bay  Intelligencer,  the  first  newspaper,  in  1832.  He  loved 
newspaper  work  and  continued  to  write  articles  for  the  Stevens  Point 
Joinery,  almost  to  the,  day  of  his  death.  His  age  we  have  forgotten, 
but  it  was  not  far  from  90.  He  often  talked  about  Dr.  Darling,  John 
Bannister,  Edward  Pier,  Jo.  King  and  others  of  the  old  timers  in 
Fond  du  Lac. 

Close  and  careful  investigation  reveals  the  fact  that  there  are 
many  errors  in  previous  histories  of  Fond  du  Lac  city  and  county, 
and  perhaps  there  are  good  reasons  for  this,  as  it  is  often  difficult  to  get 
at  facts.  No  one  knows  this  better  than  those  who  have  undertaken 
to  get  them.  People  do  not  remember  things  alike,  and  unless  facts 
are  a  matter  of  record,  information  is  decidedly  unreliable.  In  this 
work  we  have  tried  hard  to  get  matters  correct. 


THE  BANKS  AND  BANKERS 


Fond  du  Lac  Banks  from  the  Beginning  and  Who  Managed  Them. 
An  Interesting  Chapter  of  Business  History. 


It  is  not  legitimate  banking  to  furnish  capital  for  men  to  estab- 
lish themselves  in  busines,  but  when  once  a  fixed  fact,  the  banker  has 
his  field  of  work  in  assisting  the  business  man  temporarily.  The 
assets  of  a  bank  in  a  measure  belong  to  the  business  men  where  the 
bank  Js  located,  and  of  right  cannot  be  denied  them  if  the  rules  are 
■complied  with.  Collaterals  and  short  time  paper  of  acceptable 
character,  are  a  legitimate  part  of  this  transaction.  The  banker 
assists  and  the  business  man  receives  on  the  basis  of  this  security. 
The  banker  has  no  right  to  make  the  terms  unnecessarily  hard,  but 
only  such  as  shall  make  the  loan,  secure,  for  we  must  bear  in  mind 
that  the  banker  is  but  the  representative  of  those  who  own  the  money 
which  comprises  the  bank's  capital  and  assets.  He  must  be  honest 
with  the  owners  of  the  bank  and  fair  to  the  customer,  all  the  time 
adhering  to  the  legitimate  rules  of,  banking,  founded  on  long  experi- 
ence. In  this  way  only  can  there  be  success.  Since  the  advent  of 
our  national  banking  law  there  has  been  little  complaint  except  that 
occasionally  a  banker  is  found  whose  exactions  are  deemed  some- 
what rigid.     But  is  it  not  better  to  err, in  this  than  in  being  too  loose? 

The  local  deposits  in  the  banks  indicate  the  condition  of  business 
and  the  confidence  of  the  people,  in  the  soundness  and  reliability  of 
the  banks.  When  money  is  required  in  large  amounts  to  adjust  the 
balances  due  by  business  men  at  the  commercial  centers,  especially 
when  business  is  slack,  these  deposits  disappear  and  if  the  banks  are 
short  of  money  to  discount  paper,  the  people  feel  it.  A  bank  is  a 
business  institution  dealing  in  money.  As  in  all  other  kinds  of  busi- 
ness, there  are  fixed  principles  which  govern  it,  and  if  these  are 
violated  there  is  sure  to  be  trouble,  for  the  bank  is  the  business 
barometer.  It  is  sensitive  to  the  situation  and  feels  and  shows  the 
financial  storm  that  is  coming.  It  is  good  banking  to  see  and  protect 
the  bank  against  disaster  and  at  the  same  time  inspire  confidence  in 
the  business  community.  To  say  what  paper  may  be  safely  dis- 
counted and  what  paper  ought  not  be,  often  requires  peculiar  ability 
in  such  matters.  Anxiety  to  do  business  must  not  prompt  the  banker 
to  discount  paper  of  doubtful  character,  or  to  make  the  amount  too 
large  on  good  paper.     Either  may  make  trouble. 

The  ability  with  which  Fond  du  Lac  banks  have  been  managed 
from  the  beginning,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  but  once,  in  our  history, 
has  there  been  mistakes  of  management  that  brought  serious  loss. 
The  Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Bank,  under  the  management  of  Robert 
A.  Baker  and  John  S.  Burrows,  was  for  many  years  a  sound  financial 


52  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

institution,  but  later  on,  in  the  anxiety  to  do  business,  unsound  and 
insecure  securities  were  accepted  ,.and  the  bank  made  a  disastrous 
failure.  C.  H.  Benton,  as  assignee,  settled  affairs  as  best  he  could, 
but  there  was  bad  management  of  the  bank's  affairs  toward  the  last 
by  Mr.  Baker  and  Mr.  Burrows.  This  has  been  the  only  instance  of 
a  Fond  du  Lac  bank  doing  business  outside  of  regular  banking 
methods.  The  Exchange  Bank  of  Darling  &  Co.  failed,  but  it  was 
because  of  bad  habits  rather  than  a  violation  of  banking  methods. 

Fond  du  Lac  Banking  Houses. 

In'  the  early  times  of  Fond  du  Lac,  that  is  to  say,  previous  to 
1850,  Dr.  Darling  seems  to  have  furnished  the  money  for  business 
exchange.  His  oldest  son,  Keyes  A.  Darling,  was  associated  with 
his  father  presumably  in  this  as  in  other  business.  While  Dr.  Darling 
was  in  Congress,  Keyes  A.  Darling  and  his  son-in-law,  John  A.  East- 
man, looked  alter  the  details  of  his  large  business. 

Exchange  Bank  of  Darling  &  Co. 

Dr.  T.  S.  Wright,  son-in-law  and  representative  of  Gen.  Warner, 
came  to  Fond  du  Lac  in  1849,  ^^^  i^"^  1850,  Darling,  Wright  &  Co. 
started  the  above  named  bank,  K.  A.  Darling,  President ;  T.  S. 
Wright,  Vice-President,  and  C.  W.  Whinfield,  Cashier.  Chas. 
Schaefer,  afterward  for  six  years  State  Treasurer  of  Minnesota,  was 
for  a  time  Cashier  of  this  bank.  The  business  was  continued  many 
years,  and  early  in  its  history  erected  the  stone  banking  house  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Main  and  East  First  streets,  so  long  occupied  in 
late  years  by  the  Wells  Bank. 

Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Bank. 

In  1852  Robert  A.  Baker  and  his  brother,  Henry  O.  Baker, 
closed  out  their  grocery  business,  the  latter  returning  to  New  York 
city  and  Robert  A.  Baker  opened  a  broker's  office.  In  1856  the  above 
named  bank  was  organized  with  S.  B.  Amory,  President,  and  R.  A. 
Baker,  Cashier.  It  was  a  bank  of  issue  under  the  state  banking  law. 
After  a  few  years  Mr.  Amory  withdrew  from  it  and  Mr.  Baker  and 
John  S.  Burrows,  known  as  Cashier,  were  the  only  persons  known 
to  be  connected  with  the  bank.  After  the  panic  of  1873,  land  specu- 
lation was  entered  upon  and  disastrous  losses  followed.  For  many 
years  the  Baker  bank  was  a  strong  and  popular  institution.  The 
banking  house  of  this  "bank  was  the  conspicuous  structure  that  until 
recently  stood  on  the  south  half  of  the  property  of  the  Fond  du  Lac 
National  Bank.  John  S.  Burrows  died  by  suicide  at  Marquette,  Lake 
Superior,  and  Mr.  Baker  died  in  Chicago. 

McCrea,  Bell  &  Butler  Bank. 

This  was  a  Milwaukee  firm  that  owned  the  Fond  du  Lac  and 
Sheboygan  Plank  Road  and  did  an  extensive  grain  and  lumber  busi- 
ness here.  The  firm  built  the  one  story  stone  banking  office  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  Main  and  Division  streets.  They  never  did  much 
of  a  banking  business  here,  and  the  office  was  used  mostly  for  other 


PROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  53 

business,  which  was  wholly  closed  out  about  the   time  of  the  war. 
The  building-  has  been  used  many  years  for  a  saloon. 

Bank  of  the  Northwest. 

This  bank,  now  the  First  National  Bank,  was  organized  by  Ed- 
ward Pier,  B.  F.  Moore,  A.  G.  Ruggies  and  S.  E.  Lefferts,  in  Janaury, 
1855,  B.  F.  Moore,  President,  A.  G.  Ruggies,  Cashier.  It  was  a  bank 
of  issue  under  the  state  banking  law.  Just  ten  years  later  it  was 
changed  to  a  national  bank  under  the  name  of  First  National  Bank  of 
Fond  du  Lac,  Edward  Pier,  President,  B.  F.  Moore,  Vice-President, 
A.  G.  Ruggies,  Cashier.  Directors — Edward  Pier,  B.  F.  Moore,  A.  G. 
Ruggies,  John  H.  Martin,  Orrin  Hatch.  One  year  later  J.  B.  Perry 
became  the  Cashier,  a  position  in  which  he  laithfully  served  the  bank 
for  thirty-five  years,  and  is  now  its  President.  A.  G.  Ruggies  was 
President  from  1875  wntil  his  death  in  1887,  when  E.  A.  Carey  was 
chosen  and  served  until  1903.  Since  that  date  J.  B.  Perry  has  been 
the  President,  and  Ernest  J.  Perry  Cashier.  Besides  the  names  before 
mentioned  vvho  have  been  directors,  H.  D.  Hitt  has  served  more  than 
fifty  years  without  missing  a  monthly  meeting,  although  he  lives  at 
Oakfield,  nine  miles  away.  C.  A.  Heth  served  many  years  and  until 
his  death.  Maj.  E.  R.  Herren  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  a 
number  of  years.  Gen.  Ruggies  was  also  a  director  many  years.  B. 
Wild  was  a  member  of  the  board  and  A.  G.  Ruggies,  G.  W.  Earle 
and  J.  C.  Fuhrman  are  directors. 

The  first  rooms  occupied  by  the  Bank  of  the  Northwest  were 
very  modest  ones  on  the  south  side  of  West  First  street, , in  the  rear 
of  the  corner  store.  In  1857  the  bank  was  moved  to  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Forest  streets,  where  it  has  been  ever  since,  though  the 
old  rooms  are  now  a  hotel,  corner  of  Marr  and  Fourth  streets.  The 
present  plain  but  substantial  building  was  erected  in  1873  ^^^  ^^^ 
been  the  business  home  of  the  bank  for  more  than  thirty  years.  In 
the  half  century  of  this  bank,  whatever  of  panics  or  business  troubles 
came,  no  one  for  a  moment  suspicioned  the  soundness  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Fond  du  Lac. 

Fond  du  Lac  National  Bank. 

This  powerful  financial  institution  was  organized  in  1887,  with 
the  following  named  ofificers;  who  also  constitute  the  Board  of 
Directors :  President,  C.  A.  Galloway ;  First  Vice-President,  Fred- 
erick Rueping;  Second  Vice-President,  J.  A.  Merryman;  John 
Hughes,  Charles  Schreiber,  E.  P.  Sawyer  and  N.  S.  Gilson,  Directors, 
and  G.  A.  Knapp,  Cashier.  A  little  later  Judge  Gilson  retired  and 
G.  A.  Knapp  became  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Directors. 
The  officers  have  been  practically  the  same  to  the  present. 
From  the  start  it  was  shown  by  the  reports  that  this  bank 
had  the  confidence  of  the  business  public.  The  bank  bought  the 
former  Baker  bank  property  and  thoroughly  remodeled  it  before 
opening  for  business,  but  after  a  few  years  it  was  found  to  be  too 
small  and  the  bank  bought  the  Bischofif  property  next  north,  the 
building  on  it  was  removed  and  in  1902  the  bank  went  into  its  present 


54  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 

beautiful   building-,   occupying-  both   of   the   lots.     The   ofifice  of   this 
bank  and  its  equipment  are  not  surpassed  in  the  state. 

Wells  Banking  House. 

This  bank,  which  was  the  predecessor  of  the  present  Commercial 
National  Bank,  was  opened  in  1870  by  William  H.  Wells,  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Main  and  East  First  streets,  and  remained  there 
more  than  thirty  years.  Until  his  death  in  1888,  Wm.  H.  Wells 
managed  the  business,  and  after  that  date  his  brother.  John  C.  Wells, 
was  in  charge,  but  in  1898  he  also  died,  and  M.  T.  Simmons  succeeded 
to  the  management.  Since  he  went  into  the  bank  in  1875,  Mr.  Sim- 
mons has  been  in  active  control,  a  period  of  more  than  thirty  years. 
From  the  beginning  it  was  the  constant  effort  to  secure  the  confidence 
of  the  people  and  was  remarkably  successful.  Care  and  strict  integ- 
rity marked  every  step  from  the  beginning.  In  1901  Mr.  Simmons 
nationalized  the  bank,  Messrs.  Henry  Boyle,  John  T.  Boyle,  H.  R. 
Potter,  Frank  B.  Hoskins,  George  Giddings,  F.  E.  Hoyt,  M.  T.  Sim- 
mons, D.  D.  Sutherland  and  A.  G.  Bechaud  taking  the  stock  and  be- 
coming the  board  of  directors.  The  bank  then  bought  the  property 
at  the  northeast  corner  of  Main  and  East  First  streets,  and  in  1902-3 
erected  the  present  fine  building  for  its  own  use.  The  officers  of  the 
bank  are :  President,  H.  R.  Potter ;  Vice-President,  Henry  Boyle ; 
Second  Vice-President,  A.  G.  Bechaud;  Cashier,  M.  T.  Simmons. 
The  AA'ells  Bank  was  never  a  bank  of  issue. 

The  Savings  Banks. 

The  first  savings  bank  in  business  in  Fond  du  Lac,  was  organized 
by  Edward  Pier  and  E.  H.  Galloway.  They  were  able  to  realize  how 
desirable  it  would  be  to  have  a  safe  institution  in  which 
savings  could  be  deposited,  down  to  as  small  sums  as  half  a  dollar. 
In  1866  they  organized  the  Fond  du  Lac  Savings  Bank  and  erected 
the  fine  building  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Forest  Avenue  and  Macy 
street.  The  business  of  the  bank  was  for  a  few  years,  conducted  in 
a  brick  building  west  of  the  present  First  National  Bank.  During 
the  time  of  Curt.  Lewis  as  postmaster,  the  postoffice  occupied  the 
room  afterward  used  by  the  Savings  Bank.  The  bank  started  in  busi- 
ness with  Edward  Pier,  President ;  E.  H.  Galloway,  Vice-President ; 
Edward  Colman,  Treasurer,  and  C.  K.  Pier,  Director.  After  the 
injury  of  Edward  Pier  and  finally  his  death,  and  the  death  of  Mr. 
Galloway,  the  latter's  son,  E.  A.  Galloway,  became  an  officer,  but  as 
he  preferred  the  farm  and  had  no  taste  for  banking,  he  retired,  and 
Mrs.  M.  H.  Galloway  became  President,  C.  K.  Pier,  Vice-President, 
and  G.  A.  Knapp,  Treasurer.  Finally  Mrs.  Galloway  found  that  she 
could  not  give  attention  to  the  business,  C.  K.  Pier  had  gone  into 
lumber  manufacture  at  Merrill  and  it  was  determined  to  close  the 
business,  which  was  done  in  1886,  after  a  career  of  seventeen  years. 
It  was  a  train  of  circumstances  that  brought  about  the  closing  of  this 
bank,  and  not  a  lack  of  business,  and  every  dollar  due  was  paid. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  55 

The  C.  L.  Encking  Bank. 

In  1878,  C.  L.  Encking  started  a  Savings  institution  which  was 
named  the  German  Savings  Bank,  of  which  little  is  known  now. 
Since  Mr.  Encking  died,  no  one. seems  to  know  much  about  it.  It  is 
quite  sure,  however,  that  it  never  did  much  business.  At  the  closing 
everything  was  settled  and  paid  and  so  quietly  that  little  is  remem- 
bered about  it. 


Cole  Savings  Bank. 

In  1878,  William  E.  Cole  started  the  Cole  Savings  Bank,  and  has 
built  up  one  of  the  successful  institutions  of  Fond  du  Lac.  Naturally 
careful  and  conservative  and  realizing  from  the  beginning  that  care- 
lessness with  the  savings  deposited  in  his  bank  would  be  unjustifiable, 
he  has  never  allowed  himself  to  depart  from  the  policy  of  strict 
business  integrity  which  was  determined  upon  from  the  beginning. 
His  conservatism  especially  fits  Mr.  Cole  for  this  business,  and  a 
man  better  qualified  would  be  difficult  to  find  in  this  state.  He  has 
sometimes  been  charged  with  being  too  -conservative,  but  all  fair 
minded  business  men, do  not  hesitate  to  declare  that  it  is  far  better 
for  him  to  be  too  conservative  than  too  liberal.  His  business  methods 
very  soon  gained  the  confidence  of  the  people,  and  in  the  nearly 
thirty  years  of  the  bank's  existence  it  has  always  retained  it.  This 
bank  was  incorporated  in  1890  under  the  state  banking  law.  as  the 
Cole  Savings  Bank.  In  1899,  Mr.  Cole  bought  the  part  of  the  Amory 
block  owned  by  Mr.  John  Amory,  and  fitted  it  in  nice  shape  for  the 
use  of  the  bank.  For  twenty  years  he  occupied  the  rooms  under  the 
First  National  Bank,  rather  than  risk  any  of  the  assets  of  the  bank 
for  a  fine  office  elsewhere.  He  began  on  the  bottom  round  of  the 
business  ladder  and  great  care  has  marked  his  career. 


German  American  Savings  Bank. 

A  bank  bearing  this  name  was  organized  in  1867,  by  R.  Ebert 
and  J.  C.  Perry,  who  were  afterwards  joined  by  Louis  Muenter,  but 
it  never  did  a  heavy  business.  After  a  few  years  Mr.  Perry  withdrew 
and  in  1883  the  bank  was  discontinued  because  of  the  ill  health  of 
Mr.  Ebert.  While  it  bore  the  name  of  Savings  Bank,  it  did  not  do 
a  regular  business  as  a  savings  bank.  The  modest  building  erected 
by  this  bank  for  its  use,  still  stands  on  Main  street  near  the  corner  of 
the  malt  house  lot. 

These  are  all  the  banks  Fond  du  Lac  has  ever  had.  There  have 
always  been  men  here  with  money  to  speculate  in  non-bankable 
securities,  such  as  Chattel  Mortgages,  Judgment  Notes,  and  cut- 
throat schemes  of  all  sorts,  and  we  have  them  yet.  We  have  had 
but  one  bad  failure  in  our  history  and  our  banks,  as  a  rule,  have 
smoothly  weathered  the  storms  of  panics  and  financial  troubles  of 
every  sort. 


56  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

CITY    OF   RIPON. 

Ripon  has  never  had  many  banks  and  those  located  there  have 
been  of  the  solid,  substantial  and  reliable  sort.  The  men  managing 
them  have  invariably  had  the  full  confidence  of  the  people. 

Bank  of  Ripon. 

This  bank  was  organized  under  the  state  banking  law  in  1856, 
with  H.  H.  Mead  as  President,  and  E.  P.  Brockway,  Cashier,  and 
ceased  business  in  1864  to  give  place  to  the  First  National  Bank. 

First  National   Bank. 

Organized  in  1864,  with  E.  P.  Brockway  as  President,  Geo.  L. 
Field.  Cashier.  In  1890,  H.  H.  Mead  became  President,  and  in  1902 
Mr.  Mead  retired  and  Geo.  L.  Field  assumed  the  office,  with  F. 
Spratt  as  Cashier.  In  1882  the  fine  banking  house  of  this  institution 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  but  was  immediately  replaced. 

Bowen  &  Wheeler  Bank. 

Began  business  in  1864,  with  J.  Bowen  as  President  and  Chas. 
F.  Wheeler,  Cashier.     Ceased  business  in   1876. 

German  National  Bank. 

This  was  one  of  a  series  of  banks  organized  by  L.  D.  Moses,  a 
former  W^aupaca  and  Antigo  merchant  of  large  means.  The  German 
National  at  Ripon,  was  organized  in  1889,  with  L.  D.  Moses  as  Presi- 
dent, and  I.  M.  Dakin,  Cashier.  C.  F.  Schloerb  was  afterwards 
cashier  for  a  time,  but  in  1902  Mr.  Moses  retired  and  Charles  Cowan 
became  President,  with  J.  P.  Stone,  Cashier.  A  neat  banking  house 
was  erected  on  the  organization  of  the  bank,  and  which  it  still  occu- 
pies. 

These  are  all  the  banks  Ripon  has  ever  had  and  no  more  have 
been  needed.  The  character  of  the  men  in  charge  of  them  and  the 
liberal  and  safe  policy  pursued,  has  made  them  sufficient  for  all 
purposes. 

CITY  OF  WAUPUN. 

Following  have  been  the  banking  institutions  of  Waupun  from 
the  earliest  days  to  the  present  time: 

Bank  of  Waupun. 

Organized  in  1851  under  the  state  banking  law,  by  L.  B.  Hills, 
who  was  the  manager  until  it  ceased  business  three  years  later. 

Corn  Exchange  Bank. 

Established  by  William  Ilobkirk  on  the  closing  of  the  Waupun 
Bank,  in  1854,  and  continued  by  him  until  1875,  when  he  absconded 
with  most  of  the  assets.  After  nearly  twenty  years  of  successful 
business,  Mr.  Hobkirk  sacrificed  the  bank  and  himself  to  fast  horses 
and  other  practices  unsafe  for  a  banker.  David  Ferguson,  of  Mil- 
waukee, was  for  several  years  the  President  of  this  bank  and  it  was 
looked  ujion  as  one  of  the  leading  and  safe  banks. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  57 

C.  W.  Hennig's  Exchange  Office. 

Charles  W.  Hennig,  a  former  Fond  du  Lac  boy,  had  been  an 
employe  of  Mr.  Hobkirk  many  years,  and  he  now  opened  an  exchange 
office,  but  continued  it  only  a  few  months. 

Citizens'  Bank  of  Waupun. 

This  bank,  organized  by  Almon  Atwood  in  1876,  continued  in 
business  only  one  year. 

Exchange  Bank  of  Geo.  Jess   &  Co. 

A  new  building  was  erect-ed  for  this  bank  and  it  did  a  substantial 
and  safe  business  from  its  organization  in  1876  until  1885,  when  it 
was  sold  to  Geo.  W.  Mitchell,  of  Milwaukee,  Geo.  F.  Wheeler,  of 
Waupun,  both  of  them  former  Fond  du  Lac  county  men  and  both 
former  sheriffs  of  the  county,  and  others  of  the  stockholders,  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  the  First  National  Bank  of  Waupun. 

First  National  Bank  of  Waupun. 

Organized  in  1885,  with  L.  D.  Hinckley  as  President,  W.  Cald- 
well, Vice-President,  and  B.  W.  Davis,  Cashier.  Geo.  F.  Wheeler 
at  the  time  of  his  death  was  President  of  this  bank,  a  position  he 
had  held  many  years. 

State  Bank  of  Waupun. 

Organized  in  1903  with  J.  O.  Henson  as  President,  but  S.  M. 
Sherman  is  now  at  its  head.  These  two  banks  are  solid  institutions 
and  have  the  full  confidence  of  the  people. 

These  banks  are  on  the  side  of  Waupun's  Main  street  which 
puts  them  in  Dodge  county,  but  they  are  so  close  to  Fond  du  Lac 
and  the  people  of  our  county  do  business  with  them,  hence  they  are 
entitled  to  space  here. 

Brandon. — Foster  &  Son  have  a  broker's  office  at  Brandon,  and 
do  a  legitimate  banking  business. 


A  Crooked  Channel. 

The  belief  has  been  acquired  by  many  from  some  source  that  in 
the  meandering  of  the  old  river  channel,  it  found  its  way  through 
the  site  of  the  new  postoffice  building.  This  is  a  mistake.  The  old 
channel  swept  around  near  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Lange  block, 
thence  through  the  Tait  wood  yard,  but  did  not  touch  the  postoffice 
site.  There  was  a  slough  which  ran  in  there,  in  which  the  small 
frogs  often  peeped  in  the  early  spring  time.  The  house  of  J.  H.  Clum 
stood  on  the  site  of  the  new  government  building  and  the  next  east 
was  the  Plymouth  Congregational  Church.  Next  to  this  was  a 
vacant  space  and  then  came  the  old  Darling  block.  Macy  street  was 
not  opened  from  Forest  to  Second  until  in  the  sixties,  and  the  old 
channel  did  not  swing  as  far  east  as  the  present  corner  of  First  and 
Macy  streets. 


58  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Railroad  Open  to  Chester. 

The  original  Northwestern  car  shops  were  started  in  Fond  du 
Lac  in  1854  to  build  cars  for  the  operation  of  the  road  then  being- 
built  south  and  opened  a  little  later  to  Chester.  It  was  expensive 
and  difficult  to  bring  in  cars  and  so  it  was  proposed  to  build  them 
here.  The  shops  were  enlarged  at  different  times  until  they  cov- 
ered about  a  block  of  land  on  Brooke  street  and  the  bank  of  the  river. 
It  was  long  a  busy  place,  building  passenger  coaches  as  well  as 
freight  cars,  and  there  was  also  a  machinery  department  for  the  re- 
pair of  locomotives  and  other  rolling  stock.  In  1862  the  plant  was 
entirely  dismantled  and  moved  to  a  suburb  of  Chicago  on  the  pre- 
tense that  the  company  had  to  maintain  shops  there  and  it  would  be 
vastly  cheaper  to  do  all  the  work  there,  but  the  truth  seemed  to  be 
that  the  officers  of  the  company  had  bought  a  large  tract  of  land  in 
this  suburb  and  there  was  much  money  to  be  made  by  the  sale  of 
lots  to  employes  and  others.  Fond  du  Lac  lost  heavily  by  the  re- 
moval of  the  shops  and  the  officials  gained  in  similar  proportion. 
For  many  years  Fond  du  Lac  heavily  felt  the  depression  consequent 
on  the  removal  of  the  shops.  All  the  men  were  removed  from  their 
positions,  from  Henry  Hull  as  superintendent,  to  James  Edmund  as 
engine  stoker.  Pete  Jones,  the  engineer,  made  a  green  house  bower 
of  the  engine  room,  but  it  had  to  go  when  the  removal  order  came. 
Ben.  Garvin  dropped  his  hammer  in  the  machinery  room  and  the 
big  blowers  were  quiet. 


Early  Day  Shingle  Machines. 

There  was  a  time  when  Fond  du  Lac  seemed  to  be  headquarters 
for  shingle  machines  and  many  of  them  were  built  in  the  machine 
shops  of  Peacock  &  White.  The  first  kind,  and  the  one  of  which 
the  greater  number  were  built,  was  the  Valentine.  This  machine 
was  patented  by  W.  P.  Valentine,  for  many  years  a  resident  here. 
Dr.  Walker  brought  out  a  machine  similar  in  some  respects  to  the 
Valentine,  and  Kasson  Freeman  came  next,  but  these  machines  were 
sold  mainly  to  northern  Wisconsin  and  Michigan  lumbermen.  The 
Beaudreau  machine  was  very  large  and  made  shingles  by  the  cut- 
ting process  from  steamed  blocks.  These  machines  were  all  built 
here,  but  they  were  used  largely  elsewhere.  Occasionally  other 
machines  were  seen,  but  these  were  the  standard. 


A  Free  Will  Baptist  Church. 

Besides  the  First  Baptist  Church,  Fond  du  Lac  had  a  Free  Will 
Baptist  Church,  oragnized  in  an  early  day  by  Elder  Stanley,  but  as 
neither  had  a  modern  baptistry,  they  sought  the  primitive  method 
of  resort  to  water  outside.  The  favorite  and  almost  only  place  for 
baptism  was  a  pool  below  the  old  Bissell  mill  dam,  near  the  Western 
avenue  bridge.    All  traces  of  tlie  localty  disappeared  many  years  ago. 


THE  FOND  DU  LAC  POSTOFFICE 


Postmasters    From    1838    to    1905.      Early    Day    Mail    Service    and 
Early  Day  Mail  Carriers. 


Following  are  the  names  of  those  who  have  served  as  post- 
masters from  the  opening  of  the  postoffice  in   1838  to   1905: 

1838— Colwert  Pier.  18G7— R.  M.  Lewis. 

1838 — John  Bannister.  1869 — James  Coleman. 

1839 — Dr.  M.  C.  Darling.  1873 — James  Coleman. 

1842— Thomas  Green.  1877—1.  N.  Hauser. 

1845 — John  A.  Eastman.  1877 — Thomas  W.  Spence. 

1849— Sam  Ryan.  1883— Geo.  E.  Sutherland. 

1850— E.  C.  Tompkins.  1885 — Samuel   M.   Smead. 

1852- George  W.  Weikert.  1889— James  T.  Green. 

1857— George  W.  Weikert.  1894— Samuel   M.   Smead. 

18G1— John  C.  Lewis.  1897— Frank  M.  Givens. 

18G5— E.  S.  Bragg.  1901— Frank  M.  Givens. 

18CC— J.  M.  Gillet.  1905— Frank  M.  Givens. 

Four  times  in  its  history  there  has  been  crookedness  in  the  Fond 
du  Lac  postoffice,  but  not  of  much  importance.  In  1849,  i"  1862, 
in  1877  and  in  1881  there  was  some  trouble.  Twice  the  office  has 
been  robbed  by  burglars  and  considerable  money  and  stamps  taken. 
In  the  early  times  the  office  was  long  located  in  the  then  Spink  build- 
ing, north  of  the  Lewis  House.  Mr.  Weikert  moved  the  office  to  near 
the  northwest  corner  of  Main  and  Division  streets,  where  Wagen- 
knecht's  harness  shop  is  now.  Curt.  Lewis  moved  it  to  the  rear  of 
the  First  National  Bank,  Jim  Coleman  took  it  to  Division  street  and 
thence  to  its  present  location.  By  the  time  the  new  building  is  oc- 
cupied, the  office  will  have  been  thirty-three  years  where  it  is  now. 
Mr.  L.  M.  W^vatt  has  been  assistant  postmaster  continuouslv  since 
1878. 

During  the  reconstruction  troubles  under  President  Andrew 
Johnson,  he  being  at  variance  with  congress,  there  was  hesitancy 
about  confirming  appointments,  and  so  it  came  about  that  in  1866 
and  1867  that  the  appointments  of  Gen.  Bragg  and  J.  M.  Gillet  for 
postmaster  at  Fond  du  Lac,  were  held  up  and  R.  ]\1.  Lewis  went  in 
on  a  compromise  appointment. 

In  the  fifty-seven  years  that  Wisconsin  has  been  a  state.  Fond 
du  Lac  has  had  fourteen  postmasters,  though  the  terms  of  four  of 
them  were  very  short.  Geo.  W.  Weikert,  James  Coleman,  S.  M. 
Smead  and  F.  M.  Givens  held  the  office  two  terms  or  eight  years 
each.  Wlien  the  office  is  moved  into  the  new  government  building 
now  being  erected,  it  will  have  been  moved  six  times  in  the  same 
period.  It  is  deeply  regretted  by  all  citizens,  as  it  will  no  doubt  be 
at  no  distant  day  by  government  officials  also,  that  the  new  building 
is  so  small.     It  is  said  to  furnish  no  more    room    than    the    present 


60  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

quarters,  while  it  oujT;ht  to  have  been  twice  the  size.  It  seems  to 
most  peo])le  that  $65,000,  the  cost  of  this  structuire,  ])roperly  ap- 
plied, oiii2,ht  to  have  furnished  a  building  much  larger  and  far  more 
imposing-  in  api)earance. 

About  as  foolish  a  thing  as  it  is  possible  for  a  jierson  to  do,  is 
to  go  crooked  in  a  postoffice.  They  invariably  get  caught  at  it  and 
have  to  pay  the  penalty,  which  is  severe. 

Free  postal  delivery  was  established  in  Fond  du  Lac  in  1888, 
and  rural  free  delivery  in  1900,  and  have  resulted  very  satisfactory 
to  all  concerned.  When  free  delivery  was  begun  in  1888,  there  were 
four  carriers,  but  in  1905,  the  number  has  been  increased  to  thirteen. 
From  1900  to  1905  the  rural  delivery  has  increased  from  two  to  nine 
routes. 

Mails  at  Fond  du  Lac. 

On  the  8th  day  of  February,  1838,  the  first  mail  arrived  in  the 
settlement  from  Green  Bay.  It  was  brought  through  by  Billy  La- 
lone,  a  French-Indian  half-breed,  traveling  on  foot  with  the  mail 
pouch  and  his  supplies  on  his  back.  Billy  carried  the  mail  at  first 
every  tw^o  weeks,  but  a  little  later  every  week.  Uncle  William 
Stewart  was  the  next  mail  carrier.  He  was  a  Scotchman  and  a  de- 
serter from  the  British  army,  partly  swimming  the  river  at  Niagara 
Falls  to  get  from  Canada  into  the  United  States.  He  had  to  keep 
well  out  of  Canada  to  avoid  arrest.  He  afterwards  became  a  farmer 
in  the  town  of  Byron  and  later  in  Eden,  and  was  in  every  way  a 
first-class  citizen.  He  w^as  for  nearly  ten  years  a  member  of  the 
county  board  and  every  session  was  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
claims.  Then  came  a  semi-weekly  service  on  horseback  from  She- 
boygan, and  when  the  Milwaukee  road  was  opened  and  the  stage 
line  established  in  1848,  Fond  du  Lac  had  its  first  daily  mail.  From 
year  to  year  the  service  has  been  improved  ever  since. 

Two  Early  Day  Characters. 

Two  of  the  generally  well  known  characters  of  early  times  at 
Taycheedah  was  Billy  Lalone  and  Uncle  Billy  Stewart.  The  latter 
in  after  years  became  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  useful  men  on 
the  county  board  of  supervisors.  Uncle  Billy  Stewart  was  for  three 
or  four  years  a  mail  carrier  on  foot  between  Green  Bay  and  Fond 
du  Lac,  but  later  on  opened  a  farm  in  Byron  and  afterwards  in 
Eden,  from  both  of  which  towns  he  was  sent  to  the  county  board 
many  years  and  was  always  chairman  of  the  committee  on  claims. 
He  was  a  deserter  from  the  British  army,  escaping  across  the  river 
into  the  United  States  at  Niagara  Falls.     He  was  a  Scotchman. 

Billy  Lalone  was  a  French  and  Indian  half-breed  and  was  Fond 
du  Lac's  first  mail  carrier.  He  often  prided  himself  on  quick  trips 
with  mail  pouch  and  bag  of  grub  on  his  back  to  Green  Bay  and  re- 
turn. I>car  in  mind  that  Taycheedah  was  in  the  early  times  a  town 
of  far  greater  pretensions  than  it  is  now  and  Billy  Lalone  had  some- 
thing to  do  in  making  himself  generally  useful  to  the  people.  To 
go  out  to  the  farm  of  Col.  Conklin  on  errands  for  B.  V.  Moore,  or  to 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  61 

cross  the  prairie  to  Fond  du  Lac  on  some  errand,  was  but  a  little 
walk  for  him.  He  was  a  favorite  with  the  women  as  well  as  the 
men,  for  he  helped  them  in  looking  after  small  children  and  playing 
with  the  larger  ones.  Among  the  boys  he  played  marbles  with,  was 
Harry  Whinfield,  and  Harry  says  he  was  a  good  player,  too.  Half- 
breeds  of  French-Indian  stock  could  be  lazy  coots  without  difficulty, 
but  there  was  not  a  lazy  hair  in  Billy's  head.  He  died  only  two  years 
ago  near  Racine,  and  left  many  friends  there  as  well  as  here.  Uncle 
Billy  Stewart  died  a  number  of  years  ago. 


Patent  Right  Sharpers. 

At  least  twice  in  the  history  of  Fond  du  Lac,  some  of  its  citizens 
were  badly  bitten  by  patent  right  sharpers.  The  first  time  it  was 
with  a  patent  fanning  mill.  One  day  when  Dan  Rice  was  exhibiting 
here  a  man  appeared  on  the  street  with  a  half-size  fanning  mill  with 
which  he  did  remarkably  nice  work.  He  mixed  wheat,  oats  and  all 
sorts  of  stufif  and  then  ran  them  through  his  mill,  separating  each 
into  different  drawers.  He  worked  it  nicely  and  sold  a  right  to  half 
the  state,  claiming  that  he  wanted  to  reserve  the  other  half  for  him- 
self. The  purchasers,  including  E.  B.  Martin,  a  fanning  mill  manu- 
facturer, got  the  material  all  ready  in  knock-down  shape  to  put  on 
the  market  about  250  full-size  fanning  mills.  The  first  ones  put  up 
failed  to  work  and  all  of  the  rest,  so  far  as  they  were  constructed, 
proved  utter  failures.  The  small  mill  did  its  work  well,  but  it  ap- 
peared that  the  larger  size  would  not  do  it. 

The  next  scheme  was  that  of  a  fire-proof  paint.  At  the  Lewis 
house  the  schemer  painted  dry  shingles  with  his  paint  and  they  re- 
fused to  burn  when  put  into  the  fire.  The  right  to  make  and  sell 
the  paint  was  bought,  such  men  as  Edward  Beeson,  Dr.  T.  S.  Wright, 
Keyes  Darling,  W.  H.  Hiner  and  a  few  others  becoming  interested 
5n  the  proposition.  The  schemer  made  some  of  the  paint  to  show 
them  what  it  would  do  and  it  worked  beautifully.  The  basement  of 
the  stone  mill  was  fitted  up  for  a  factory  and  work  began,  but  it  was 
a  complete  failure.  The  paint  was  hardly  better  than  common  white- 
wash. It  was  ascertained  afterward  that  the  formula  the  sharper 
gave  the  purchasers  was  very  different  from  the  one  from  which  he 
made  his  paint,  that  being  altogether  too  expensive  to  be  practical. 
The  man  had  disappeared  and  work  was  abandoned. 


Capt.  Mapes  and  His  Text. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  men  in  the  development  of  the  west 
side  of  Fond  du  Lac  county,  was  Capt.  D.  P.  Mapes,  in  his  early  life 
a  steamboat  captain.  He  went  to  Ripon,  then  known  as  Ceresco,  in 
1846.  He  became  the  owner  of  considerable  land  there  and  in  1848 
began  the  agitation  in  earnest  for  another  village.  Judge  Horner 
also  lived  there  and  asked  Capt.  Mapes  for  the  privilege  of  naming 
the  new  village,  and  the  request  was  granted  on  the  conditions  that 
it  should  not  be  a  long  name,  a  common  name  or  an  Indian  name. 


62  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

The  Horner  family  having  come  from  Ripon,  England,  and  that 
name  comph'ing  with  the  conditions,  it  was  chosen.  An  effort  was 
made  by  citizens  to  name  the  place  Marengo,  but  Capt.  Mapes  would 
have  none  of  it.  He  was  a  good  talker  and  though  his  speech  was 
not  always  grammatical,  it  possessed  the  merit  of  being  effectual, 
and  the  new  town  was  named  Ripon  and  prospered.  In  after  years 
and  to  the  time  of  his  death,  if  there  was  any  public  enterprise  on 
hand,  Capt.  Mapes  was  sure  to  be  in  the  lead  as  a  talker  and  worker. 
He  published  a  history  of  Ripon,  a  small  book  well  filled  with  amus- 
ing and  interesting  matter.  In  1868,  when  Milwaukee  made  a  vigor- 
ous effort  to  secure  better  commercial  relations  with  eastern  Minne- 
sota, the  Milwaukee  Merchants'  Association  sent  Capt.  Mapes  up  the 
Mississippi  river  as  a  worker,  but  while  working  efffciently,  he  did 
not  forget  Ripon.  One  evening  a  gentleman  got  off  the  'bus  at  the 
Mapes  house  at  Ripon  and  made  this  inquiry  of  the  proprietor: 
"Who  is  that  old  gentleman  whom  I  met  at  all  towns  along  the 
Mississippi  river  who  is  always  preaching  and  his  text  is  Ripon?" 
There  was  no  question  about  its  being  Capt.  Mapes. 


Sails  on  Lake  Winnebago. 

A  respectable  two-masted  sailing  vessel  once  stirred  the  waters 
of  Lake  Winnebago,  doing  business  in  regular  transportation.  It 
was  schooner-rigged  and  with  its  sails  spread  looked  very  pretty. 
"Trader"  was  her  name  and  she  was  sailed  by  Capt  Steve  Hotaling. 
Her  trips  were  not  frequent,  but  she  put  in  an  occasional  appearance 
here  with  lumber,  shingles,  farm  produce  and  other  commodities. 
But  getting  her  in  and  out  of  the  rivers  at  the  different  lake  ports 
was  slow  and  she  was  sold  to  John  Morse,  of  the  well  known  Osh- 
kosh  machine  shops,  who  took  out  the  masts  and  put  in  machinery 
and  she  became  the  well  known  Fox  river  steamboat,  "Diamond." 
l]ut  the  "Trader"  did  not  wholly  end  sailing  vessels,  for  in  1877  a 
vessel  considerably  smaller  was  put  on  the  lake  used  to  transport 
farm  products  to  market.  She  was  also  a  two-masted  vessel,  schooner- 
rigged,  but  she  was  found  not  to  pay  and  was  sold  to  Judge  Pulling, 
C.  W.  Felker,  E.  W.  Viall  and  John  Bauman,  all  of  Oshkosh,  by 
whom  she  was  beautifully  fitted  up  as  a  pleasure  yacht,  and  was 
long  known  as  the  "Flora."  Oshkosh  Scandinavians  occasionally 
nad  scows  to  assist  in  bringing  in  potatoes  and  like  products  from 
the  east  shore,  but  the  above  were  the  only  real  sailing  crafts,  except 
pleasure  yachts  that  have  in  the  past  stirred  the  waters  of  Lake  Win- 
nebago and  its  tributaries. 


A  Paradise  for  Hoboes. 

Beginning  about  twenty-five  years  ago,  the  old  coal  sheds  of 
the  Northwestern  road  at  the  south  end  of  Morris  street,  was  a  para- 
dise for  tramps  and  criminals,  and  the  police  picked  them  up  almost 
nightly.  A  good  thing  for  all  concerned  is  that  it  has  entirely  dis- 
appeared. 


PRINTING  AND  PRINTERS 


The  Job  Printers  in  Fond  du  Lac  From  Early  Days  to  the  Present 

Time.    The  Work  They  Did  and  How 

They  Did  It. 


Edward  Beeson  was  the  veteran  and  founder  of  job  printing  in 
Fond  du  Lac.  He  was  a  printer  by  trade  and  a  printing  office  was 
a  pleasure  resort  for  him.  He  was  connected  with  the  trade  here 
from  the  beginning,  and  ceased  only  when  age  required  it.  During 
the  active  part  of  his  life  it  was  about  impossible  for  him  to  keep 
out  of  the  business.  When  he  sold  an  office  it  was  only  to  engage 
in  another,  and  he  was  never  out  of  it  long.  To  conduct  a  pioneer 
newspaper  was  a  pleasure  to  him,  and  when  we  think  of  his  genial 
character  we  cannot  but  wonder  that  in  early  life  he  delighted  in 
newspaper  controversy.  In  politics  he  was  an  old  time  democrat 
mainly  on  tariff  issues,  for  he  was  a  rock-rooted  free  trader.  In  the 
war  there  was  no  copperheadism  in  him.  He  first  set  type  at 
Beaver,  Pa.,  when  he  was  fourteen  years  old  and  was  a  lifelong 
printer. 

Mr.  Beeson  sold  the  Fond  du  Lac  Journal  to  M.  J.  Thomas  in 
1853,  and  for  a  year  was  out  of  business.  The  following  year  he 
opened  Beeson's  Job  Printing  office,  which  very  soon  became  one 
of  the  prominent  and  prosperous  business  places  of  the  town.  The 
building  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Main  and  Second  streets  had 
been  erected  after  the  great  fire  of  1852.  by  Ward  &  Windecker,  and 
the  second  story,  known  as  Ward  &  Windecker's  Hall,  was  used  for 
dances,  theatres,  lectures,  etc.,  and  on  Sundays  for  religious  meet- 
ings. But  in  1856,  Amory  Hall  was  finished  and  the  Ward  &  Win- 
decker  Hall  did  not  pay,  so  it  was  rented  to  Mr.  Beeson  for  a  printing 
office  and  continued  to  be  so  iised  until  in  1862,  when  the  Reporter 
was  started  and  the  hall  was  found  too  small  for  both  and  Beeson's 
Job  office  was  moved  to  the  west  side  of  Main  street,  in  Warner's 
block,  over  the  store  now  occupied  by  Schleyer  &  Ordway,  where  it 
remained  until  1867,  when  the  office  became  the  nucleus  of  the  after- 
ward's  widely  known  Star  Printing  Company. 

Limited  in  capacity,  with  but  a  small  amount  of  material  and 
one-half  of  it  very  much  worn,  and  with  cheap  presses,  yet  Beeson's 
Job  Printing  office  managed  to  turn  out  some  of  the  best  work  ever 
seen  in  Fond  du  Lac.  Specimens  of  it  may  now  be  seen  here  which 
compares  well  with  any  printing  of  today,  with  all  our  boasted  im- 
provements. The  only  jobber  the  office  ever  had  was  an  old  Boston 
Ruggles,  on  which  the  form  was  upside  down  when  in  use,  and  was 
the  first  jobber  brought  to  the  state.  The  Milwaukee  Sentinel 
brought  it  from  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  in  1848,  thence  it  went  to  Racine  or 
Kenosha,  and  Mr.  Beeson  bought  it  from  C.  L.  Sholes  in  1856,  and 


64  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

it  came  to  Fond  cki  Lac  overland.  Besides  this  jobber,  there  were 
two  hand  presses  in  the  office,  on  which  everything  larger  than  a 
note  sheet  was  printed.  Until  A.  C.  Stow  and  A.  T.  Glaze  built  a 
paper  cutter,  all  paper  used  in  the  office  was  cut  to  the  size  for  the 
job,  by  hand  with  a  shoe  knife.  Cards  were  bought  already  cut, 
until  a  cutter  was  purchased  about  the  same  time.  All  circles  were 
cut  in  wood  and  much  wood  type  was  used.  When  some  particular 
line  was  needed  for  a  poster,  a  board  was  planed  to  thickness  and 
size  and  it  was  cut  by  hand.  This  is  done  in  some  offices  now,  P.  B. 
Haber's  for  instance,  but  it  is  done  on  specially  prepared  material, 
while  the  early  times  people  had  hardwood  from  the  cabinet  shop, 
to  work  with.  Rollers  w^ere  made  at  home  of  glue  and  molasses,  now 
the  material  may  be  bought  ready  to  melt  and  cast,  or  the  rollers 
will  be  cast  and  sent  almost  as  cheap  as  cost  of  the  material  for 
them,  and  much  better,  for  they  will  last  much  longer.  The  printer 
of  today  has  little  conception  of  the  cares  and  tribulations  of  the 
early  day  worker.  The  latter  had  to  fight  his  way  and  do  the  best 
possible  with  the  material  he  had  or  could  make  to  fill  the  bill  for 
the  job  he  had  in  hand.  He  could  not  send  to  Milwaukee  or  Chicago 
and  get  what  he  would  like  to  use,  almost  at  an  hour's  notice.  Sev- 
eral days  or  a  week  was  required  for  what  can  now  be  done  in  a  few 
hours. 

During  the  time  the  Northwestern  road  was  being  built  from 
Fond  du  Lac,  T.  F.  Strong,  Sr.,  was  superintendent,  T.  F.  Strong,  Jr., 
was  the  general  passenger  agent  and  D.  Y.  Selleck,  for  the  last  forty 
years  financial  manager  of  the  great  McCormack  business  in 
Chicago,  was  the  general  freight  agent.  Through  these  gentlemen, 
and  especially  T.  F.  Strong,  Jr.,  who  was  a  veritable  genius  as  to 
printing,  Beeson's  Job  office  received  orders  for  all  the  printing  used, 
and  it  was  no  small  afifair  for  the  facilities  at  hand  with  which  to 
do  it.  But  that  it  was  well  done  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  work 
was  highly  complimented  by  such  Chicago  offices  as  Dunlap,  Sewell 
&  Spalding  and  Rand,  McNally  &  Co.  Among  the  heavy  jobs  done 
was  a  full  sel^  of  through  coupon  tickets  in  blue  and  red  color  on 
highly  calendared  forty-five  pound  straw  colored  medium  paper. 
Those  tickets  varied  in  length  from  six  to  forty  inches  and  carried 
from  two  to  twenty  coupons.  On  this  job  A.  T.  Glaze  ran  the  press 
during  the  days  and  C.  H.  Benton  nights  for  several  weeks.  The 
number  of  tickets  printed  of  each  form  was  not  large,  being  200  whole 
tickets  and  fifty  halves,  but  they  had  to  go  through  the  press  twice. 
It  was  the  changes  in  the  coupons  that  required  time  more  than 
press  work.  To  the  credit  of  all  concerned,  it  may  be  stated  here 
that  such  experts  as  Mr.  McNally  and  Mr.  Spalding  said  these 
tickets  and  the  accompanying  book  of  forms,  was  the  best  job  of 
printing  in  that  time,  seen  in  this  country  up  to  that  time.  But  this 
was  not  the  only  large  or  neat  job  turned  out  of  that  office — there 
were  many  of  them.  Tim  Strong  wanted  everything  neat  in  that 
line  and  he  got  it.  And  so,  as  stated  in  the  beginning  of  this  article, 
Beeson's  Job  Printing  office  was  one  of  the  noted  early  day  institu- 
tions  of    Fonrl    du    Lac.      During   the    most   of   its    existence,    A.   T. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  65 

Glaze  was  the  foreman,  and  those,  who  worked  under  him  at  differ- 
ent times  were  Charley  Benton,  Senator  Dan  Morrison,  of  Minnesota, 
Web.  Henry,  Hi.  Morley,  Johnny  Cortelyou,  Hugh  Boener,  Fon. 
Rockwell,  Malcolm  Graham,  Jimmy  A\^right  and  possibly  two  or 
three  others  whose  names  are  forgotten.  All  are  believed  to  be  now 
dead,  except  Mr.  Glaze  and  Senator  Morrison. 

It  is  not  out  of  place  to  state  here,  that  Edward  Beeson  was  a 
printer  and  newspaper  man  of  the  old  school.  He  felt  at  home  in  a 
newspaper  office,  but  was  not  much  of  a  job  printer.  Mr.  Glaze 
served  an  old  fashioned  apprenticeship  in  a  printing  office  in  Ohio. 
Mr.  Beeson  was  his  uncle,  his  mother  being  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Beeson. 
His  delight  was  to  do  nice  printing  and  to  write  for  newspapers. 
The  first  printing  he  ever  did  was  with  a  hand  stamp  with  movable 
type,  bought  at  a  circus  when  a  small  boy.  It  was  fifty-five  years 
on  the  24th  of  August  last,  since  he  came  to  Fond  du  Lac,  and  he 
has  seen  the  city  grow  from  infancy  to  its  present  proud  position. 

When  Beeson's  Job  office  ceased,  the  Star  Printing  Company 
came  into  existence.  Homer  G.  Leonard,  James  Russell  and  T.  F. 
Strong,  Jr.,  were  announced  to  the  public  as  the  owners,  under  the 
name  of  Leonard,  Russell  &  Strong,  but  Edward  Beeson  held  an 
interest  in  it.  The  office  was  in  part  of  the  second  story  of  the 
Amory  building  on  Division  street,  but  later  was  moved  to  the  post- 
office  block  on  Macy  street.  At  the  latter  location  it  did  the  print- 
ing for  the  Sheboygan  &  Fond  du  Lac  Railroad  and  some  for  the 
Lake  Shore  &  Western.  This,  with  most  of  the  Protection  Insurance 
Co.  and  the  general  orders  from  the  city,  made  the  office  a  very  busy 
place.  After  a  time  the  railroad  work  went  to  Milwaukee  and  the 
insurance  company  failed,  after  which  the  Star  Printing  Company 
went  into  decline.  This,  with  bad  financial  management,  brought 
on  a  reorganization  of  the  company,  but  it  did  not  work  well  and  the 
office  was  at  last  seized  on  chattel  mortgage  and  landed  at  Marinette. 
A  lively  lot  of  boys  were  from  time  to  time  connected  with  the  Star 
Printing  Company,  but  nearly  all  have  been  lost  to  sight.  Homer 
Leonard  is  in  Chicago,  James  Russell  has  been  at  Marquette,  Mich., 
many  years,  and  Brown  Caniff  is  now,  1905,  as  he  has  been  many 
years,  employed  in  the  Reporter  office. 

About  this  time  Thos.  H.  Bryant  had  a  job  office  on  Main  street, 
over  Whittelsey's  store,  but  never  made  much  of  a  stir.  The  Com- 
monwealth also  had  a  job  office  all  this  time,  but  neither  Mr. 
Watrous  nor  Mr.  Kutchin  seemed  to  care  much  about  pushing  the 
business.  Their  specialty  was  the  newspaper  and  they  gave  it  ex- 
cellent service. 

Thomas  Bryant  sold  his  job  office  to  John  Lockin,  who  some 
time  after  took  it  to  Brandon,  and  most  of  it  found  its  way  into  the 
office  of  the  Brandon  Times. 

In  1875,  Spencer  Palmer,  another  of  the  old  time  Commonwealth 
boys,  started  his  job  printing  office  in  a  very  modest  way.  He  can- 
vassed the  county  for  work,  and  no  village  escaped  him.  Wherever 
a  job  of  printing  was  desired,  "Spence"  was  on  hand  to  see  about  it, 
and  .this  has  been  his   policy  for   more  than   thirty  years.     He   has 


66  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

never  aimed  at  making  a  big  stir,  but  has  pursued  a  steady  business 
course,  increasing  his  facilities  slowly,  but  all  the  time  at  work. 

In  1885,  Charles  H.  Swift  and  P.  B.  Haber  started  the  "County 
Job  Printing  Office,"  under  the  firm  name  of  Swift  &  Haber. 
Charley  Swift  came  from  the  office  of  the  former  Star  Printing  Com- 
pany and  P.  B.  Haber  from  the  Benjamin  book  agency.  The  firm 
existed  but  a  short  time,  Swift  retiring  and  Mr.  Haber  becoming  the 
owner.  In  1886  he  negotiated  the  purchase  of  the  Daily  and  Weekly 
Commonwealth  and  organized  the  Commonwealth  Printing  Company, 
which,  while  entirely  separate  as  a  business  proposition,  has  yet  been 
in  the  same  building  and  rooms  of  the  job  printing  office  of  P.  B. 
Haber.  With  the  Commonwealth  came  the  jobbing  department  of 
that  office,  at  the  time  of  the  purchase  practically  asleep,  and  in  these 
first  twenty  years  the  business  has  been  remarkably  successful.  Mr. 
Haber  has  made  a  specialty  of  show  printing  and  especially  of 
dates,  and  owns  the  local  bill  posting  business. 

Next  came  F.  D.  Edwards  with  the  Trade  Bulletin,  a  very  mod- 
erate sheet  at  first,  for  advertising  purposes,  but  W.  E.  Smith  joined 
him  and  jobbing  rooms  were  added.  Like  many  other  Fond  du  Lac 
enterprises,  the  business  grew  slowly  but  steadily.  Now  that  the 
Daily  Bulletin  has  been  launched  and  domiciled  in  the  same  rooms, 
it  also  has  a  newspaper  connection. 

During  all  of  the  more  than  forty  years  since  1862,  the  Reporter 
has  been  doing  job  printing,  but  it  was  not  until  L.  A.  Lange  became 
the  owner,  that  job  printing  was  pushed,  and  especially  after  A.  H. 
Tuttle  took  charge  of  that  side  of  the  Reporter's  business  did  it  have 
the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  best  equipped  offices  here. 

The  office  of  the  Nordwestlicher  Courier,  since  W.  H.  Weber 
has  been  proprietor,  a  period  of  about  twenty  years,  has  done  con- 
siderable job  printing,  in  English  as  well  as  German. 

Ripon,  Brandon,  Waupun,  Campbellsport  and  Oakfield  have  job- 
bing departments  in  connection  with  their  local  newspapers,  but 
there  is  little  effort  to  compete  with  the  larger  city  offices. 

Contents  of  the  Newspapers. 

When  the  Saturday  Reporter  was  started  in  1862,  attention  was 
first  given  to  local  matters.  Up  to  that  time  it  had  been  the  aim  of 
the  papers  to  deal  with  news,  state  and  national,  and  to  handle  politics. 
The  Reporter  was  started  for  the  express  purpose  of  dealing  with 
society,  personal  and  general  local  news,  and  it  was  a  success.  Pre- 
vious to  this  time,  if  a  prominent  person  came  or  went,  it  might  be 
noticed  and  it  might  not.  Weddings  were  noted  under  the  general 
head  of  "Marriages,"  but  it  needed  to  be  a  big  event  to  secure  local 
mention,  and  a  write  up  like  those  of  the  present  day,  was  almost  un- 
known. Clubs  were  far  in  the  future  and  parties,  except  for  dancing, 
were  few  and  far  between.  Let  any  one  look  into  the  old  newspaper 
files  in  the  Public  Library  and  note  how  different  was  the  style  of 
newspaper  writing.  The  change  came  with  J.  J.  Beeson  and  the  Sat- 
urday Reporter.    In  personals  it  has  now  gone  so  far  as  to  be  ridiculed, 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  67 

and  justly  so,  as  all  who  come  or  go  expect  a  notice.  Social  functions 
have  so  multiplied  that  the  printer's  space  is  monopolized.  Fifty 
years  ago  all  this  was  unknown. 

New  Style  of  Type  Stickers. 

In  this  year  of  1905  we  have  hardly  completed  the  first  year  of 
the  Linotype  Type  setting  machine.  A  year  ago  we  were  yet  picking 
up  type  just  as  the  practice  had  come  down  to  us  from  the  days  of 
Faust  and  Scheffer,  in  the  Sixteenth  Century.  We  distributed  the 
loose  type  into  the  cases  and  picked  it  out  again,  one  by  one,  very 
much  as  the  hen  picks  up  corn.  The  case  would  "run  out  of  sorts," 
that  is,  there  would  come  a  shortage  of  certain  letters  and  figures,  but 
all  the  annoyances  of  the  type  case  has  passed  with  the  coming  of  the 
machine.  Such  a  thing  as  "sorts"  is  unknown  where  it  stands.  If 
the  old  time  printer  set  five  to  seven  thousand  ems  a  day,  it  was  a  fair 
day's  work,  but  the  machine  drops  that  nvimber  of  ems  every  hour  in 
the  day.  The  old  time  printer  was  often  burdened  with  "pi,"  but 
nothing  of  the  sort  is  known  to  the  machine.  The  ingenious  German 
Mergenthaler  perfected  this  machine  but  a  few  years  ago,  now  they 
are  everywhere.  Fond  du  Lac  at  this  date  has  seven  of  them.  Little 
did  the  type  setter  of  even  a  year  ago,  dream  of  what  was  coming. 

The  Point  System. 

The  old  time  printers  were  content  to  name  the  sizes  of  type,  as 
Nonpareil,  Brevier  and  Long  Primer,  (the  size  used  in  this  book)  and 
many  others,  and  to  speak  of  them  as  six  point,  eight  point,  or  ten 
point,  would  be  Latin  to  him.  One  would  have  to  go  into  an  explana- 
tion to  make  him  understand  that  it  is  a  system  now  universal,  to 
overcome  the  difficulties  he  used  to  have  in  the  use  of  type  from 
different  foundries,  is  now  happily  gone  forever.  Use  of  the  point 
system  is  a  great  improvement  but  the  old  time  printer  knew  it  not. 
The  faces  of  the  type  now  differ,  but  the  bodies  are  the  same  from  all 
type  foundries. 

Use  of  Plate  Matter. 

This  is  another  innovation  on  old  time  printing  office  methods. 
The  old  timer  had  to  set  all  the  matter  he  used  in  his  paper,  now  he 
may  buy  it  in  plate  ready  for  use  and  in  any  department  of  newspaper 
literature.  There  is  even  a  daily  news  service  from  either  of  the  many 
concerns  devoted  to  the  making  of  plate  matter.  The  cost  to  the 
printer  is  much  less,  and  the  quality  is  often  much  improved.  Thirty 
years  ago  plate  matter  was  almost  unknown  to  newspaper  men. 

Other  Innovations  Come  to  Stay. 

If  the  young  printer  of  today  was  given  the  old  beveled  side  and 
foot  sticks,  together  with  wood  quoins,  shooting-stick  and  mallet, 
what  sort  of  work  would  he  make  in  trying  to  lock  a  form,  and  what 
would  the  old  time  printer  have  done  with  the  mechanical  quoins 
now  in  general  use. 

How  would  the  present  day  printer  like  it  to  "pull"  a  few 
"tokens"  on  a  hand  press  or  "kick  off"  a  few  thousand  impressions 
on  a  jobber? 


86  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAf 

How  would  he  enjoy  cutting  paper  with  a  shoe  knife  or  column 
rule?  How  would  he  like  it  to  make  his  own  rollers  or  put  a  business 
card  or  ball  ticket  to  press  on  a  big  hand  press?  He  would  probably 
not  enjoy  it  much,  but  these  and  other  like  things  had  to  be  done 
here  in  Fond  du  Lac  in  the  past  and  it  was  not  much  more  than  fifty 
years  ago  either.    Some  of  them  much  less  than  that. 


Tommy  Heil,  the  Mechanic. 

Thomas  Heil  was  a  German  who  resided  from  early  times  on 
Brooke  street,  in  a  small  house  at  the  north  end  of  the  Gurney  ware- 
house. Tommy  Heil  was  a  genius  as  a  mechanic.  He  was  for  more 
than  twenty-five  years  the  designer  and  head  pattern  maker  at  the 
machine  shops  of  Peacock  &  White,  afterwards  Union  Iron  Works. 
In  1874  went  into  the  Allis  shops  at  Milwaukee,  as  head  of  the  engine 
drafting  rooms,  where  he  remained  until  his  death  in  1899.  As  a 
mechanic  he  had  no  superior. 

At  a  state  meeting  of  the  German  Turners,  held  here  just  after  the 
war,  numerous  banners  "Gut  Heil"  (good  cheer)  appeared  along  the 
streets,  and  the  boys  like  Tim  Strong,  French  Fuller,  Tom  Coneys 
and  others  started  out  with  the  declaration  that  if  they  were  going 
to  gut  Heil  they  were  there  to  see  about  it — they  were  not  disposed 
to  let  Heil  be  gutted  while  they  were  about.  It  was  a  good  play 
upon  words  and  of  course  all  laughed  heartily. 


Gibson  Blacksmith  Shop. 

A  blacksmith  shop,  doing  all  sorts  of  work  in  that  line,  once 
stood  on  the  corner  of  First  and  Marr  streets,  on  the  ground  on 
which  the  residence  of  J.  W.  Watson  now  stands.  It  was  owned  and 
run  by  Mr.  Gibson.  He  once  had  an  old  fashioned  log  chain  brought 
to  his  shop  for  a  new  hook  which  had  been  broken  and  part  of  it  lost. 
To  make  that  hook  he  said  was  the  most  difficult  piece  of  black- 
smithing  he  ever  undertook. 


From  Church  to  Opera  House. 

The  present  Crescent  Opera  House  was  the  original  First  Con- 
gregational Church,  built  in  1848,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  L.  C. 
Spafiford.  It  was  enlarged  at  the  time  Rev.  Silas  Hawley  was  pastor 
and  afterwards  sold  to  the  Laborer's  Benevolent  Society.  The  own- 
ership, after  a  couple  of  changes,  went  to  P.  B.  Haber,  who  is  still  in 
control. 


Old  Time  Home  of  A.  H.  Clark. 

This  house  so  familiar  to  all  old  timers,  has  entirely  disappeared 
to  give  place  to  one  of  modern  appearance.  It  stood  on  the  same 
spot  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Marr  and  Fifth  streets,  since  1849. 
Mr.  Clark  was  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  the  county. 


MUSICAL  INSTRUMENTS 


The    Sale   and   Use    of   Pianos   and    Organs.      The    Development   of 
Musical  Talent  in  Fond  du  Lac  Since   1850. 


Pianos  are  heavy  to  handle,  therefore  difficult  of  transportation 
into  a  new  country  over  new  and  bad  roads.  And  there  are  not  many 
early  settlers  who  are  prepared  to  invest  in  costly  musical  instru- 
ments. The  music  of  knives  and  forks  and  the  rattle  of  farming 
tools  have  a  far  deeper  significance  to  them  than  the  piano  or  organ. 
In  after  years  they  got  to  an  appreciation  and  ability  to  purchase  the 
latter,  but  in  the  early  years  they  can  and  do  appreciate  the  violin 
that  enables  them  to  dance  and  at  least  temporarily  forget  about 
troubles  and  privations.  So  it  was  with  the  early  days  of  Fond  du 
Lac  county  people.  They  had  A.  H.  Clark,  Nat.  King,  Charles  Bou- 
ton,  A.  W.  Chapman,  George  Ferris  and  the  Windecker  boys  to  fiddle 
for  them,  but  little  was  heard  of  the  piano  or  organ.  John  F.  Burger, 
the  old  time  piano  teacher,  who  is  still  with  us,  and  E.  H.  Hawley, 
sold  the  first  pianos  here,  about  the  year  1850.  They  were  the 
Boardman  &  Gray,  Emerson,  Bradbury  and  Schomer  make.  The 
Boardman  &  Gray  piano  had  the  "Dolce  Campana"  attachment, 
which  sold  many  of  the  instruments,  but  were  so  objectionable  that 
after  a  little  while  there  was  hardly  a  writing  table  or  desk  in  town 
that  did  not  have  one  or  more  of  the  pretty  discs  in  use  for  paper 
weights.  The  first  melodeons  here  were  those  of  Prince  &  Co.,  and 
George  W.  Sawyer  was  the  agent.  Mr.  Hawley  introduced  an  in- 
strument called  the  "Melo-Pean,"  but  it  was  short  lived.  Mr.  Soule 
a  little  later  sold  various  instruments,  among  them  the  Grovestein 
&  Co.  piano,  the  cheapest  piano  ever  made.  It  was  as  worthless  as 
it  was  cheap.  "What  becomes  of  all  the  pins?"  is  an  old  saying,  and 
we  may  wonder  what  becomes  of  all  the  old  pianos,  melodeons,  melo- 
peans,  organs,  etc.  Who  in  many  years  has  seen  or  heard  one  of 
those  old  time  instruments?  They  in  some  way  went  out  of  exist- 
ence long  ago.  The  cabinet  organ  came  in  some  years  later  as  a 
successor  to  the  melodeon.  The  first  of  the  melodeons  were  portable 
— that  is,  could  be  folded  so  you  could  march  off  with  it  under  your 
arm.  But  later  caine  music  stores  with  everything  in  that  line.  The 
early  settler  did  not  need  them  and  the  sale  was  slow. 

In  the  years  that  have  passed  since  Mr.  Hawley  sold  thi  Board- 
man  &  Gray  piano  and  Prince  melodeons,  and  when  a  couple  of 
years  later  George  Soule  sold  Grovestein  pianos  and  melo-peans, 
which  began  about  1851  or  1852,  there  have  been  numerous  dealers 
here  in  instruments  and  musical  merchandise,  but  the  stay  of  most 
of  them  was  short.  Since  Hawley's  time  early  in  the  fifties,  there 
have  probably  been  not  less  than  twenty  dealers  whose  stay  ranged 
from  six  months  to  three  years.     It  was  not  until  1885,  when  B.  H. 


70  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Anderson  came  into  the  trade,  that  Fond  du  Lac  had  a  permanent 
dealer  in  musical  goods.  Mr.  Anderson  has  been  in  the  business 
twenty  years.  J.  W.  Trout  was  the  next  longest  in  the  business, 
about  twelve  years.  Mr.  Voell  is  in  the  business,  and  two  or  three 
others  who  are  late  comers.  S.  J.  Sherer,  Robert  Crosby,  Reed  &  Co., 
H.  W.  Hitchcock  and  W.  W.  Graham,  were  here  about  two  to  four 
years.     Several  were  here  six  months  to  a  year. 

John  F.  Burger  was  our  first  piano  teacher  as  early  as  1850. 
After  him  came  Prof.  Kumleau.  Prof.  Knerringer  and  Prof.  Graves, 
all  of  them  fine  teachers.  There  were  some  lady  teachers  in  later 
years.  The  conservatories  have  done  much  to  break  up  the  teaching 
by  outside  professors.    Methods  as  well  as  the  teachers  have  changed. 

The  first  of  Fond  du  Lac's  noted  singers  was  Abby  Beeson  Car- 
rington,  now  with  her  husband,  Mr.  Lewis,  a  resident  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. She  for  several  years  sang  in  opera  and  concert.  Mrs.  H.  C. 
Moore,  Mrs.  L.  A.  Bishop,  Miss  Bessie  Marie  Mayham,  Mrs.  Chas. 
Geisse,  Miss  Marlea  Bishop,  Miss  Korrer  and  others.  Also  Herbert 
Moore,  Dr.  D.  B.  Wyatt,  Geo.  W.  Watson,  J.  E.  Zahn,  and  others 
among  the  men.  H.  Cumberland  Wilson,  one  of  the  most  accom- 
plished organists  and  teachers  in  the  west,  came  here  in  1902. 

Fond  du  Lac  has  never  been  behind  the  times  or  its  neighbors 
in  musical  culture  or  business.  Most  of  the  time  it  has  taken  the 
lead. 


The  Dr.  Darling  Homestead. 

As  late  as  the  beginning  of  the  year  1850,  the  parcel  of  land  from 
Main  street  to  the  river  channel  and  stage  barn,  and  from  First  to 
Forest  streets,  was  the  homestead  of  Dr.  M.  C.  Darling.  His  house 
stood  in  the  center  and  was  surrounded  by  fruit  trees.  During  the 
year  1850  the  old  Darling's  block,  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Main 
and  First  streets,  was  begun  and  finished  in  1851.  This  was  the  first 
break  in  the  land,  and  a  couple  of  years  later  the  trees  began  to  dis- 
appear. The  new  house  of  Dr.  Darling  came,  the  old  one  was  moved 
away,  and  still  later  Macy  street  was  ordered  to  be  opened  from  First 
to  Forest  streets,  and  the  new  house  was  moved  to  where  it  now 
stands,  on  Macy  street.  In  the  meantime  came  encroachments  on 
the  land  on  the  Main  street  front,  and  was  rapidly  filled  with  business 
structures.  The  trees  all  went  as  did  also  the  high  picket  fence  on 
Forest  street.  One  afternoon  just  before  this  fence  disappeared,  the 
fine  bay  team  of  horses  owned  by  George  McWilliams,  started  from 
in  front  of  the  home  of  Judge  Flint,  and  ran  on  with  great  force,  into 
this  fence  and  were  ruined.  The  scene  was  a  wicked  one  and  made 
the  bystanders  shudder.  The  horses  were  tenderly  cared  for,  but 
one  of  them  had  to  be  killed.  The  carriage  was  empty  at  the  time 
and  no  person  was  injured,  but  it  was  no  doubt  one  of  the  most 
startling  runaways  ever  seen  in  Fond  du  Lac.  Macy  street  from 
First  to  the  court  house  and  from  Forest  street  north,  were  opened 
long  before  this,  although  that  from  First  to  Second  was  little  used, 
as  the  river  slashed  around  in  there. 


\VAS  A  TALENTED  ARTIST 


Mark   R.    Harrison   and    His    Dioramas.      Some    Noted    Work    of   a 

Fond  du  Lac  Artist. 


Few  people  now  residing  in  Fond  du  Lac,  know  that  one  of  the 
noted  artists  of  modern  times  resided  here  many  years  and  died 
only  about  ten  years  ago — 1895.  He  did  much  skillful  work  in  his 
time.  He  came  here  from  Hamilton,  Canada,  with  a  brother  in  1848, 
to  engage  in  navigation  on  Lake  Winnebago  and  Fox  River.  They 
owned  the  steamboats  Manchester  and  D.  B.  Whitacre,  but  both 
were  slow  tubs  and  remained  in  commission  but  a  few  years.  They 
were  sold  and  Mark  R.  Harrison  opened  an  artits's  studio  in  the  north 
end  of  the  old  Darling's  block,  and  remained  there  several  years 
and  until  he  had  erected  one  of  the  buildings  on  his  Sixth  street 
property,  about  the  year  i860.  During  these  years  he  painted  some 
fine  pictures  which  he  shipped  to  New  York,  where  some  were  sold 
at  high  prices  and  others  taken  to  London,  where  they  sold  at 
enormous  prices.  A  few  found  their  way  to  Paris  and  to  other  noted 
capitals  of  Europe.  Some  one  wronged  Mr.  Harrison  and  he  never 
received  proper  pay  for  these  works  of  art. 

About  1858,  Thos.  H.  Stevenson  came  here  and  joined  Mr.  Har- 
rison in  painting  pictures  for  an  Art  Union.  Mr.  Stevenson  was  an 
inebriate,  but  a  remarkably  fine  painter,  especially  of  animals  in 
motion.  A  large  number  of  paintings  were  perfected  and  Miss 
Libbie  Farnsworth  wrote  a  poem  for  the  art  union,  printed  neatly 
in  book  form,  entitled,  "Voyage  of  Pere  Marquette  and  History  of 
Charles  de  Langlade."  The  tickets  being  all  sold,  the  drawing  took 
place  with  the  result  that  many  of  the  best  pictures  remained  in 
Fond  du  Lac.  "Heart  of  the  Andes,"  the  prize  picture,  went  out  of 
town.  Some  of  those  Harrison  &  Stevenson  Art  Union  pictures  are 
still  in  Fond  du  Lac  parlors.  The  paintings  were  largely  of  rural 
scenes  and  very  pretty. 

Stevenson's  habits  now  became  so  unreliable  that  he  was  given 
transportation  and  induced  to  return  to  his  home  in  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
but  in  1859  he  appeared  here  again  and  joined  Mr.  Harrison  in  the 
production  of  the  noted  Dioramas,  one  of  the  finest  achievements  in 
art  ever  witnessed  in  this  country.  The  scenes  were  each  the  size 
of  a  theatre  scene,  the  canvas  for  which  was  especially  prepared  by 
the  making  of  opaque,  transparent  and  semi-transparent  places  in  it, 
so  that  by  the  application  of  colors  on  them  and  the  proper  placing 
of  lights  before  and  behind  the  scene,  all  sorts  of  effects  could  be 
produced.  In  the  picture  of  Belshazzar's  Feast,  for  instance,  five 
beautiful  scenes,  all  of  them  different,  were  produced  by  the  mere 
placing  of  the  lights.  One  scene  would  slowly  fade  away  into  dark- 
ness, and  another,  wholly  different,  would  immediately  begin  to  ap- 


72  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

pear  with  a  change  only  of  lights.  Bright,  sombre  and  middle 
shades  were  produced  readily  and  perfectly. 

Just  how  the  canvas  was  prepared  and  the  dioramic  effects  se- 
cured, Mr.  Harrison  would  not  tell.  Even  his  student,  Edward 
Mascraft,  the  best  friend  he  ever  had,  was  kept  in  ignorance  as  to 
much  of  it.  Mr.  Harrison  claimed  that  he  and  a  student  of  his  at 
Hamilton,  Canada,  named  Jo.  Dicey,  worked  it  all  out,  but  many 
doubted  it.  It  was  true,  however,  that  the  grandest  of  the  Dioramas 
were  painted,  exhibited  and  destroyed  there.  One  night  while  on 
exhibition  at  the  Royal  Amphitheatre,  a  camphene  lamp  exploded, 
starting  a  fire  in  which  the  pictures  were  destroyed  and  many  lives 
lost. 

The  Fond  du  Lac  Dioramas  were  painted  in  Darling's  Hall. 
There  were  seven  scenes,  Belshazzar's  Feast,  Grand  Canal  of  Venice, 
St.  Mark's  Cathedral,  Venice,  Garden  of  Eden  and  Destruction  of 
Babylon  and  others.  They  were  exhibited  in  Ward  &  Windecker's 
hall,  with  splendid  effect,  with  Rev.  I.  W.  Bowen,  a  Protestant 
Methodist  preacher,  as  descriptive  lecturer.  Subsequently  they  were 
taken  out  for  exhibition  by  Mr.  Bowen  and  a  company,  and  when  in 
an  Indiana  city  they  took  fire  and  were  destroyed.  An  effort  was 
made  to  have  Mr.  Harrison  paint  another  set,  but  he  never  got  to  it. 
With  the  modern  electric  lights  what  magnificient  dioramic  effects 
might  be  produced.  The  pictures  here  described  depended  upon 
camphene,  a  very  explosive  article. 

In  the  last  years  of  his  life,  Mr.  Harrison  gave  his  attention  to 
treating  Indian  scenes,  in  which  he  was  remarkably  successful.  His 
"Gathering  for  the  War  Path,"  is  one  of  the  finest  pictures  of  Indian 
life  ever  seen  in  this  country.  This  was  the  last  work  of  his  life. 
A  person  who  could  not  admire  his  "Looking  for  the  Lost  Trail," 
would  be  sadly  deficient  in  the  admiration  of  art.  Of  his  many 
portraits  in  oil  colors,  those  of  Dr.  M.  C.  Darling,  Perry  H.  Smith, 
Gen.  Harrison  C.  Hobart,  and  others,  may  be  seen  in  the  State  His- 
torical rooms  at  Madison.  Among  the  archives  in  his  home  on 
Sixth  street,  was  a  remarkable  clock  which  he  found  a  number  of 
years  ago  in  Post's  second  hand  store,  and  had  repaired  at  a  cost  of 
$i6.  The  clock  was  made,  as  shown  by  a  brand  on  the  back  board 
of  the  works,  in  England  in  1769. 

Mr.  Stevenson  became  so  much  of  an  inebriate  that  he  was  sent 
back  to  Cleveland  a  second  time,  and  died  there.  Mr.  Harrison  died 
in  this  city  in  1894,  and  lies  in  Rienzi,  where  Mr.  Powrie  erected  a 
beautiful  portrait  head  stone.     He  was  unmarried. 

In  early  times  Fond  du  Lac  had  an  Englishman  named  Spink, 
who  owned  the  property  next  north  of  the  present  Palmer  House 
and  had  a  paint  shop  there.  He  claimed  the  title  of  "Sir  Richard 
Spink,  artist  to  the  Queen,"  and  could  talk  fast,  long  and  loud  about 
art,  but  was  more  of  a  carriage  painter  than  artist.  He  had  a  few 
specimens  of  canvas,  but  they  were  poor,  very  poor.  The  pupil  and 
successor  of  Mr.  Harrison,  Edward  Mascraft,  is  doing  some  excellent 
work.  His  portraiture  in  oil  colors,  is  especially  fine,  and  he  treats 
animal  life  as  well  as  his  teacher  ever  did.     He  is  in  everv  sense  a 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  73 

true  artist.  A  few  individuals  have  w^orked  oil  colors  in  Fond  du 
Lac  besides  those  engaged  in  teaching,  but  they  have  not  been  noted 
or  numerous.  The  photograph  has  done  much  to  lessen  the  work 
in  portraiture  in  oil  colors,  but  still  much  of  it  is  done  by  the  artists 
of  today. 

The  paintings  in  the  art  rooms  of  Mr.  Harrison  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  embraced  some  magnificent  specimens  of  art,  but  have 
been  sold  and  scattered.  "The  Mount  of  the  Holy  Cross"  is  in  the 
library  building  at  Oshkosh,  "Gathering  for  the  War  Path,''  his  great 
Indian  picture,  is  in  the  state  library  at  Madison,  "The  Lost  Trail"  and 
"Cleopatra's  Triumph"  are  owned  by  private  parties.  Had  electric 
lighting  been  in  use  as  it  is  today,  at  the  time  of  the  Dioramas, 
they  could  have  been  exhibited  far  more  effectively  and  without 
danger  equivalent  almost  to  dynamite.  But  they  are  gone  and  Fond 
du  Lac  people,  among  whom  they  were  produced,  have  but  a  limited 
remembrance  of  them. 


We  Had  a  Candle  Factory, 

It  is  now  many  years  since  Fond  du  Lac  had  a  candle  factory, 
and  remember  that  it  is  now,  in  this  year  of  our  Lord  1905,  less  than 
fifty  years  since  we  knew  anything  about  kerosene  oil  for  lighting, 
and  before  that  oil  and  fluid  lamps  and  candles  had  to  be  depended 
upon.  Fond  du  Lac  had  a  candle  factory  and  Francis  Fritz  was  the 
candle  maker.  The  factory  was  down  on  Main  street  and  made 
better  candles,  it  was  said,  than  could  be  bought  at  the  stores.  They 
were  warranted  "not  to  run  or  sputter"  and  to  burn  clearer  and  give 
a  better  light  than  candles  bought  at  the  stores.  But  Mr.  Fritz  went 
out  of  the  business  because  the  people  had  something  much  better 
than  tallow  dips. 


First   Circuses   to   Come   Here. 

The  first  circus  to  come  to  Fond  du  Lac  in  the  early  days  was 
that  of  E.  F.  &  J.  Mabie.  It  was  one  of  the  old  kind  that  made  eight 
to  fifteen  mile  drives  over  country  roads,  and  its  stands  were  often 
at  small  villages  to  avoid  too  long  drives.  The  home  of  this  show 
was  at  Delavan,  so  it  was  a  Wisconsin  institution.  E.  F.  &  J.  Mabie 
gave  place  to  Older  &  Co..  who  came  a  few  times,  when  Dan  Rice 
and  Yankee  Robinson  came.  By  this  time  we  had  railroads  in  the 
state  and  the  railroad  shows  appeared,  sometimes  two  or  three  in  a 
season.  Soon  after  the  war,  Forepaugh,  Barnum  &  Bailey  and  the 
big  shows  came  until  now  it  must  be  something  big  to  attract  atten- 
tion at  all.  And  so  it  is  with  the  small  shows  of  every  grade.  The 
W^inchell's,  the  Gibbs,  the  long  bearded  W^oodman,  trick  performers, 
song  singers,  etc.,  have  gone  to  the  rear.  There  seems  to  be  place  now 
only  for  big  things  or  something  very  nice.  In  old  times  people 
took  what  they  could  get. 


74  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Henry  Bush  Lost  His  Chickens. 

Many  of  the  early  day  people  tried  hard  to  raise  chickens,  more 
especially  for  the  eggs  for  food,  but  it  was  about  an  even  fight  be- 
tween the  housewives,  weazels,  minks,  hawks  and  owls.  It  was  not 
only  provoking  but  exasperating  to  meet  the  depredations  of  these 
"varmints."  Henry  Bush  at  one  time  had  a  beautiful  flock  of  about 
forty  speckled  Plymouth  Rocks  and  fully  as  many  more  half  grown 
chicks,  and  one  night  they  were  attacked  and  next  morning  Mr.  Bush 
had  not  one  left  for  seed.  This  ended  Mr.  Bush's  efforts  in  that  direc- 
tion for  several  years.  Others  also  suffered  heavily,  but  the  rule 
seemed  to  be  general  among  the  animals  to  stop  with  the  killing  of  a 
dozen  to  twenty.  Hawks  and  owls  were  more  considerate,  being 
satisfied  with  one  at  a  time.  Tight  hen  houses  was  the  applied 
remedy  when  the  settlers  could  get  lumber. 


The  War  Shinplasters. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion  in  1861,  and  after 
enlistments  began  in  April,  our  gold  and  silver  coin  suddenly  disap- 
peared as  by  a  stroke  of  the  magician's  wand.  The  small  change  as 
well  as  larger  pieces,  were  all  swept  away  within  a  few  weeks  and 
dealers  were  at  their  wits  end  how  to  make  change.  Due  bills  were 
used  for  a  time,  but  these  were  very  inconvenient  and  merchants  felt 
compelled  to  have  small  cards  printed  representing  5c,  loc,  25c  and 
50c,  which  they  gave  out  as  change  although  a  violation  of  law.  They 
had  to  do  it  and  no  notice  was  taken  of  it  by  the  authorities.  After 
a  while  these  change  cards  began  to  appear  signed  U.  R.  Sold,  Ch. 
Icken,  Amos  Kraut  and  dozens  of  like  names,  when  the  city  took  the 
matter  up  and  directed  City  Clerk  A.  H.  Boardman  to  procure  from 
Milwaukee  some  bound  books  of  lithographed  shinplasters  represent- 
ing 5c,  IOC,  25c  and  50c.     These  were  issued  by  the  city  on  deposits. 


First  Cedar  Blocks  Used. 

There  are  few  cities  in  \A^isconsin  that  originally  had  as  many 
streets  difficult  of  improvement,  as  Fond  du  Lac.  Our  Main  street 
at  times  has  been  almost  impassible.  Until  the  pavement  was  put 
down,  Fourth  street  was  a  hideous  thoroughfare.  West  First  street 
twenty  years  ago,  could  hardly  be  called  a  street  at  all.  Military  and 
Union  north  of  Forest  Avenue,  were  places  to  be  dreaded  for  many 
years.  Harney  street,  now  known  as  Park  Avenue,  was  at  some 
seasons  a  tough  place  for  vehicles  and  the  middletown  streets  were 
nearly  all  bad.  But  Fond  du  I.ac  had  some  fairly  good  streets  even 
in  a  state  of  nature — they  were  not  all  bad.  In  a  state  of  nature 
Linden  was  one  of  the  best  streets  in  the  city.  Fifth  and  Sixth 
streets  were  always  fair,  as  also  were  East  First  and  Second.  She- 
boygan and  Division  were  improved  early  in  our  history  with  gravel 
and  stone,  Arndt  and  Scott  were  fair  streets  at  an  early  time.  Forest 
and  West  Division  were  the  streets  to  the  railroads  and  were  im- 
proved early.  The  first  cedar  blocks  in  the  city  were  put  on  these 
two  streets. 


GENUINE  MISSIONARY  SPIRIT 


Some    of    the    Saints     Who     Preached    the     Gospel     Here     in    the 

Pioneer  Days. 


Who  can  for  a  moment  imagine  that  the  early  day  preachers 
through  this  section  of  country  were  not  inspired  with  the  genuine 
missionary  spirit.  Father  Anthony  Godfert  and  Father  Ruehl  used 
to  go  back  and  forth  in  canoes,  in  ox  sleds  and  wagons  and  often  walk 
many  miles  through  mud  and  snow  to  get  to  appointments.  In  1850 
Father  Godfert  was  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church  in  this 
city,  while  trying  to  recover  from  frozen  feet,  obtained  one  dark 
night  while  lost  in  Calumet.  Feather  Ruehl  was  the  first  to  come  here, 
and  he  came  as  soon  as  there  were  people  to  come  to.  Father  Bon- 
seuil,  a  French  missionary,  was  the  first  to  do  pastoral  work,  which 
he  did  in  1840.  He  said  mass  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  what  was  so 
many  years  known  as  the  Giltner  house,  on  East  Second  street, 
opposite  No.  I  engine  house,  in  1902  rebuilt.  In  this  house  Father 
Bonseuil  baptized  the  children,  married  the  young  people,  heard  con- 
fessions and  said  mass  for  the  dead.  He  came  from  below  but  once 
in  three  months,  and  as  the  people  waited  for  him  he  had  much  to  do 
when  he  did  come.  There  are  people  now  living  here  who  were 
baptized  in  this  house.  Father  Godfert  came  later  and  was  the  first 
settled  pastor.  He  was  succeeded  by  Father  Dael.  Isadore  Snow, 
father  of  Alfred  Snow,  our  baker,  assisted  in  building  the  old  church 
on  the  ground  where  St.  Joseph's  Church  now  stands. 

Rev.  Dana  Lamb,  on  his  farm  in  Springvale,  Rev.  S.  D.  Darling, 
in  Oakfield,  and  Rev.  Safford,  of  the  city,  were  earnest  preachers  in 
the  Congregational  Church,  but  their  experiences  were  far  from 
pleasant  sometimes.  They  did  not  always  have  even  a  clean  place, 
for  the  school  houses  were  often  very  dirty.  These  preachers  often 
did  things  that  would  appall  the  minister  at  this  day.  Tramps  on 
foot  were  most  frequent  and  all  the  difficulties  of  early  days  roads 
had  to  be  met.  About  everybody  in  the  county  knew  Mr.  Lamb 
and  Mr.  Darling  personally,  for  they  had  preached  in  most  of  the 
school  houses.  Mr.  Lamb  once  went  to  the  West  Rosendale  school 
house,  where  he  had  three  women,  three  children  and  one  Dutchman 
that  couldn't  understand  English,  for  his  Sunday  congregation.  He 
laughed  away  disappointment  by  saying  the  weather  had  been  bad 
and  the  people  must  get  in  their  crops.  When  these  two  men  died. 
Fond  du  Lac  county  lost  two  of  its  saints. 

Rev.  Mr.  Town  bought  a  farm  in  Oakfield,  in  1843.  He  was  of 
the  Free  Will  Baptist  faith  and  was  filled  with  remarkable  missionary 
zeal  for  the  work  he  had  in  hand,  as  well  on  the  farm  as  in  the  pulpit. 


76  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Saturdays  he  walked  from  Oakfield  to  Brothertown,  where  he 
preached  on  Sunday  and  Monday  made  the  return  trip  in  the  same 
way  that  he  went.  The  other  four  days  of  the  week  were  given  to 
farm  work,  except  an  occasional  funeral  or  week  day  appointment. 
A  twenty-eight  mile  walk  to  an  appointment  for  Sunday,  and  a 
twenty-eight  mile  walk  home  on  Monday,  and  farm  work  the  balance 
of  the  week,  would  probably  overtax  both  strength  and  zeal  of 
ministers  of  this  day.  But  they  don't  have  to  do  it  now.  Rev.  Mr. 
Town  left  a  son,  Mr.  P.  E.  Town,  a  member  of  the  Old  Settlers' 
Club,  who  was  born  and  still  lives  on  the  old  farm  in  Oakfield,  where 
his  father  worked  and  preached. 

The  first  Methodist  preacher  here  was  a  missionary  to  the 
Brothertowns,  in  June,  1838.  He  preached  in  the  dooryard  at  the 
house  of  Reuben  Simmons,  near  where  Calvary  Cemetery  is  now. 
Rev.  H.  S.  Bronson  was  the  first  pastor,  in  1843. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Card,  of  the  Baptist  Church,  preached  here  as  early 
as  1844,  but  the  society  was  reorganized  a  year  later. 

The  coming  of  these  and  other  early  day  preachers  was  not  met 
with  pipe  organs,  trained  quartet  choirs  or  cushioned  pews.  Nor 
were  they  in  expectation  of  heavy  pay,  for  the  people  had  no  money 
and  but  little  of  anything  else.  They  were  genuine  missionaries, 
content  to  preach  in  private  houses,  in  dirty  school  houses,  in  barns, 
in  the  woocls,  anywhere  that  they  could  get  a  hearing. 

Nat.  Waterbury  put  a  pipe  organ  in  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church, 
in  1850,  and  it  was  the  first  one  here.  Two  or  three  years  later  ReV. 
Father  Dael  put  a  small  one  into  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church,  and 
these  were  the  only  pipe  organs  here  for  many  years. 


Preceded  the  Lange  Block. 

The  first  structure  on  the  land  where  the  Lange  block  is  now, 
was  a  moderate  size  residence  built  by  A.  M.  Delaware.  The  east 
branch  of  the  river  swept  around  to  within  four  or  five  feet  of  it  and 
the  bank  at  that  point  was  very  steep.  Mrs.  Overton  and  Dr.  Ray- 
mond improved  the  Delaware  house  and  made  it  what  was  so  long 
recognized  as  the  Overton  boarding  house.  It  now  stands  at  the 
corner  of  Oak  and  South  streets. 


Hotel   Brought   From   Taycheedah. 

The  date  is  not  obtainable,  but  it  was  not  far  from  i860,  that  the 
building  known  in  Fond  du  Lac  as  Knight's  Hotel,  had  a  skate  on 
the  lake.  The  building  was  known  in  Taycheedah  as  the  Weston 
House,  but  it  was  wanted  in  Fond  du  Lac,  and  so  one  day  was  put 
on  skids  at  Taycheedah,  and  behind  eight  or  ten  yokes  of  oxen,  was 
brought  here  on  the  ice  and  placed  near  the  corner  of  Scott  and 
Juneau  streets,  where  it  took  the  name  of  Knight's  Hotel,  that  being 
the  name  of  the  proprietor.  The  oxen  slipped  some  on  the  ice,  but 
so  did  the  building,  and  it  came  all  right.  It  did  not  pay  as  a  hotel 
and  after  a  few  years  it  burned  while  empty. 


A  FEW  OF  THE  FIRSTS 


A  Few  Remembrances  of  First  Things  in  the  History  of  the  City; 

and  County. 


The  first  brewery  in  this  county  was  a  small  one  built  by  Mr. 
De  Hass,  on  the  shore  of  Wolf  Lake,  in  the  town  of  Marshfield. 
Ex-Sherifif  Kunz  knows  something  about  it. 

The  first  newspapers  sold  from  a  news  stand  in  Fond  du  Lac, 
was  in  1852,  by  Geo.  W.  Weikert  after  he  became  postmaster. 

The  first  term  of  court  in  the  old  court  house  was  held  by  T.  O. 
Howe.     The  first  term  held  in  the  new  one  was  by  N.  S.  Gilson. 

The  first  stone  sidewalk  in  Fond  du  Lac  was  laid  by  Joseph 
Stow  in  front  of  the  bank  of  Darling  &  Co.,  late  the  Wells  Bank, 
corner  of  Main  and  first  streets. 

The  first  farm  machinery  sold  in  Fond  du  Lac  was  by  Lyman 
Phillips,  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Forest  streets,  in  a  long  shed. 
H.  P.  Brown  was  afterwards  in  the  same  business  at  the  same  place. 

The  first  type  writing  machine  used  in  this  county  was  doubt- 
less the  one  brought  to  Ripon  in  1864,  by  William  Dawes.  It  was 
made  by  C.  L.  Sholes,  of  Milwaukee.  It  was  a  crude  affair,  but  Mr. 
Dawes  used  it. 

The  first  type  set  in  Fond  du  Lac  was  in  1846,  when  Henning 
&  Hooker  unpacked  the  material  for  the  Fond  du  Lac  Journal,  by 
Mood  Case,  an  Ohio  printer  visiting  Edward  Beeson. 

The  first  fountain  pen  worthy  of  the  name,  appeared  here  about 
1883.  Before  this  the  miserable  stylograph  pen  was  used  some,  but 
is  now  gone  out. 

The  first  bread  baked  for  the  public  in  a  bakery,  was  by  William 
Chandler  about  1848.  He  had  a  small  bakery  and  pie  shop  on  Main 
street. 

The  first  carriage  and  wagon  blacksmithing  done  here  and 
making  of  steel  plows,  was  by  R.  M.  and  Asa  Pierce,  who  started 
their  shop  on  Division  street  in  1846.  They  had  a  fine  shop  in  later 
years  on  Macy  street. 

The  first  sale  made  at  Curran's  drug  store,  when  it  was 
opened  in  1847,  was  a  box  of  Brandreth's  pills  and  W.  A.  Dewey  was 
the  purchaser.  Dewey  used  to  tell  Curran  that  he  opened  his  business 
here. 

The  first  six  wheel  truck  passenger  car  on  the  Northwestern 
road,  was  put  out  of  the  old  car  shops  in  Fond  du  Lac  in  1854.  The 
writer  of  this  rode  in  it  nearly  to  Oakfield  with  Mr.  Strong,  Mr.  Hull, 
Mr.  Manley  and  Mr.  Peabody,  to  test  its  running.  Previous  to  this 
the  trucks  had  but  four  wheels.     Ben  Garvin  ran  the  engine. 

The  first  news  stand  was  started  by  Geo.  W.  Weikert,  when  he 
was  postmaster.    The  New  York  Ledger  was  the  principal  paper  sold. 


78  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

The  first  barber  shop  here  was  that  of  John  Reilly,  a  negro  with 
an  Irish  name.  He  came  in  1848.  The  first  white  man  barber  was 
T.  M.  Bo  wen. 

The  first  carpenter  and  jobbing  shop  was  that  of  Esek  Dexter, 
in  1848.  Isaac  Brown,  John  Beeson,  the  Ryders,  Hurds  and  others, 
worked  in  the  buildings  under  construction,  in  barns  or  out  under 
the  trees. 

The  first  undertaker  was  Joshua  Barnett,  in  1847.  Before  his 
coming,  coffins  were  made  by  any  woodworker,  the  hearse  was  a 
farm  wagon,  and  the  funeral  conductor  the  neighbors  of  the  deceased. 

The  first  weddings  were  in  charge  of  John  Bannister.  The 
services  of  a  clergyman  was  seldom  available,  and  Mr.  Bannister  was 
the  only  qualified  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  the  vicinity. 

The  first  piano  teacher  was  John  F.  Burger,  and  the  first  singing 
school  teacher  W.  W.  Robinson.     These  men  sold  the  first  pianos. 

When  Edward  Pier  and  Colwert  Pier  came  over  the  Indian  trail 
from  Green  Bay  in  1836,  they  found  Jo.  King  as  one  of  the  French 
Voyageurs  at  Brothertown,  and  he  informed  them  that  he  came  up 
the  Fox  river  in  a  batteaux  as  early  as  1832,  and  that  he  was  on  the 
east  shore  of  Lake  Winnebago  that  year.  It  is  therefore  very  certain 
that  Jo.  King  came  to  this  region  pretty  early.  Gen.  Ellis  told  the 
writer  that  he  ran  two  lines  as  government  surveyor,  through  this 
region,  in  1828.  Jo.  King  was  with  him  part  of  the  time  in  his 
surveys. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Colwert  Pier  were  the  first  residents  of  Fond  du 
Lac  county,  and  the  first  year  of  their  residence  were  here  alone. 
And  what  will  timid  ladies  of  today  think  of  the  fact  that  Mrs.  Pier 
was  for  some  time  here  alone  among  Indians  and  wolves. 

Mrs.  Pier's  death  was  the  first  in  this  county  and  hers  the  first 
funeral.  This  death  of  Mrs.  Fanny  Pier  was  greatly  lamented  by 
the  settlers. 

The  marriage  of  Alonzo  Raymond  and  Miss  Harriet  Pier  was 
the  first  marriage  in  Fond  du  Lac  county. 

The  birth  of  John  A.  Bannister,  son  of  John  Bannister,  was  the 
first  birth  in  Fond  du  Lac  county. 

Miss  Harriet  Pier  taught  the  first  school  in  the  county. 

The  first  livery  stable  in  Fond  du  Lac  was  owned  by  Mr.  Finney, 
father  of  Ed.  Finney,  for  many  years  as  now,  a  resident  of  Oshkosh. 
He  was  for  a  time  Steward  of  the  Northern  Hospital.  The  Finney 
barn  existed  as  early  as  1847  '^^'^'^  ^"^^^  located  near  the  present  gas 
works,  with  a  shanty  office  out  on  Main  street. 

The  first  bridge  over  the  west  branch  of  the  river  inside  the 
present  city  of  Fond  du  Lac,  was  at  Western  Avenue,  in  1848. 
Previous  to  that  time  crossings  were  made  by  fording  it  above  the 
present  Wisconsin   Central  bridge. 

The  first  bridge  across  the  east  branch  was  the  bridge  of  the 
then  military  road,  but  now  Military  street  as  far  as  it  remains.  In 
1846,  when  the  bridge  was  built,  and  until  1851,  Military  street  was 
straight  from  the  five  points  to  Forest  and  the  bridge  crossed  the 
river  diagonally  at  the  Robbins'  livery  property. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  79 

The  first  resident  of  that  part  of  the  city  east  of  Park  Avenue 
and  north  of  Third  street,  was  Wm.  J.  Ransom,  who  lived  at  the 
present  home  of  the  Smead  family.  Old  residents  remember  Mr. 
Ransom  for  his  ability  to  talk.  That  part  of  the  city  was  the  Ransom 
farm  in  1850. 

The  first  bridge  over  the  east  branch  at  Forest  Avenue  was  a  log. 
A  tree  had  fallen  across  the  river  south  of  the  old  home  of  Gen. 
Hamilton,  and  people  crossed  on  it  for  about  a  year. 

The  first  dancing  hall  was  at  the  home  of  Reuben  Simmons. 
When  he  built  his  house,  Mr.  Simmons  put  in  a  movable  partition, 
and  on  occasions  of  dances,  religious  meetings,  singing  schools  or 
other  gatherings,  the  partition  was  taken  out  and  the  result  was  a 
hall  22  by  38  feet. 

The  first  hall  in  the  city  for  public  use  was  the  school  house  on 
Fifth  street,  near  Main,  which  was  built  for  a  court  room,  for  meet- 
ings of  all  sorts,  as  well  as  for  a  school  house.     It  was  built  in  1848. 

The  first  wagon  shop  in  Fond  du  Lac  was  owned  by  William 
Mumby. 

The  first  harness  shop  was  that  of  Lyman  Bishop,  at  the  corner 
of  Main  and  Third. 

The  first  cabinet  shop,  Joshua  Barnett. 

The  first  shoe  shop,  Ernest  Carpenter. 

The  first  carpenter  shop,  Esek  Dexter. 

The  first  tailor  shop,  A.  H.  Clark. 

The  first  stone  mason,  Joseph  Stow. 

The  first  insurance  agent,  W.  T.  Gibson. 

The  first  bookbinder,  Edward  Sickles. 

The  first  hatter,  David  Sickles. 

The  first  milliner,  Mrs.  John  Bonnell. 

The  first  piano  teacher,  John  F.  Burger. 

The  first  telegrapher,  William  Ellsworth. 

The  first  singing  school  in  this  vicinity  was  in  1847,  ^^  the  house 
of  Reuben  Simmons,  in  the  town  of  Fond  du  Lac,  and  the  late  W. 
W.  Robinson,  of  Ripon,  was  the  teacher.  He  came  from  Sheboygan 
every  two  weeks  for  $5.00  a  trip. 

The  first  4th  July  celebration  in  this  county  was  in  1844,  at  the 
home  of  Reuben  Simmons.  Settlers  came  many  miles  to  attend  it. 
The  band  was  Alonzo  Simmons'  violin.  The  baskets  were  emptied 
on  two  long  tables  and  the  participants  marched  to  their  places  to  the 
tune  of  Washington's  Grand  March  on  the  violin.  It  all  ended  with 
a  dance  and  they  had  a  big  time. 

The  first  regular  preaching  was  by  Rev.  John  Halsted 
(Methodist),  and  he  came  around  the  circuit  every  two  weeks.  He 
preached  in  school  houses,  dwellings,  or  any  convenient  place,  re- 
ceiving in  payment  flour,  meal  or  anything  the  settlers  might  have. 
He  received  no  money  for  they  didn't  have  any. 

The  first  reaper  used  in  this  county  is  believed  to  have  been  by 
J.  Y,  Westervelt,  in  Empire.  It  was  an  1848  McCormick  and  was 
brought  from  Sheboygan. 


80  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

It  is  believed  that  the  first  threshing  machine  in  the  county  was 
owned  by  Col.  Bertine  Pinkney  and  H.  G.  Halsted,  of  Rosendale,  in 
1848.  Previous  to  this  time  grain  was  threshed  with  flails  or  the 
tramping  of  horses  or  oxen.  It  was  the  primative  method  and  was 
slow,  but  it  served  the  purpose. 


Metzgar  in  the  Procession. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  fall  election  of  1858,  John  B. 
Wilber  was  elected  County  Treasurer  by  a  majority  of  one.  He  was 
the  democratic  candidate  and  there  were  city  and  county  anywhere 
from  100  to  1,000  men  who  said  they  were  republicans  and  claimed 
to  have  cast  that  vote.  J.  J.  Metzgar,  then  in  the  notion  trade  here, 
was  a  violent  republican,  had  a  wagon  rigged  for  the  4th  of  July  after- 
noon precession  the  next  summer,  on  which  was  a  giant  figure  of  a 
man  labeled  "the  man  who  cast  the  winning  vote  for  John  B.  Wilber," 
and  a  big  whiskey  barrel  on  a  pole,  labeled  "the  barrel  of  whiskey 
that  carried  the  Fifth  ward  for  the  democratic  ticket."  The  Fifth 
ward  was  generally  republican  at  that  time..  Another  very  small 
dummy  was  labeled,  "the  republican  that  got  a  dollar  and  glass  of 
beer  for  votinpf  the  democratic  ticket." 


Koehne  and  the  Dutch  Gap. 

Few  propositions  ever  before  the  common  council  of  Fond  du 
Lac,  had  a  more  spirited  agitation  than  what  is  known  as  the  "Dutch 
Gap."  The  water  shed  of  the  country  south  of  the  city,  is  northward 
over  the  farm  of  the  J.  H.  Martin  estate  and  the  old  fair  grounds. 
The  water  swept  down  through  the  south  part  of  the  city  and  formed 
the  ravine  which  crosses  Fourth  street,  near  Marr,  goes  through  to 
Third  street  opposite  the  Lyman  Bishop  property,  and  sweeps  down 
Third  to  Main,  and  across  that  thoroughfare,  under  a  building  north 
of  the  Windsor  House,  and  down  past  the  gas  works  to  the  river. 
In  early  days  this  was  an  open  ravine  and  every  spring  a  rushing 
torrent  swept  through  and  under  the  log  bridge  at  Main  street.  But 
some  years  ago  the  city  adopted  the  very  sensible  improvement  of 
stone  culverts  and  it  has  given  little  trouble  since.  But  the  "Dutch 
Gap"  has  helped  some  to  dispose  of  the  surplus  water.  About  1877, 
when  William  Koehne  was  a  member  of  the  common  council,  he  be- 
gan the  agitation  of  a  proposition  to  cut  a  wide  ditch  from  the  so 
called  Martin  road,  westward  to  the  river.  Mr.  Koehne  owned 
property  on  that  road  and  that  part  of  the  city  was  largely  settled  by 
Germans,  and  the  ditch  being  styled  a  water  gap,  it  came  to  be  known 
as  the  "Dutch  Gap."  The  cause  of  opposition  in  the  council  was 
mainly  the  cost.  But  after  a  couple  of  freshets,  in  which  out-houses, 
sidewalks  and  fences  were  floated  about,  Mr.  Koehne's  proposition 
carried  and  the  ditch  was  cut.  It  crosses  Main  street  near  the  old 
fair  grounds.  That  part  of  the  city  has  been  much  less  bothered 
with  water  since,  and  the  ravine  has  not  been  wild,  so  it  is  evident 
that  it  did  some  good.  It  has  lost  some  of  its  former  efficiency  by 
caving  and  needs  attention.  We  may  thank  William  Koehne  for  the 
"Dutch  Gap." 


FIRST  HOUSE  IN  FOND  DU  LAC 


A   House  with  a   True   Pioneer   History,  and   Though   of   Primitive 
Construction,  was  in  Use  Nearly  Thirty  Years. 


Previous  to  1836,  the  bridge  on  the  MiHtary  trail  spanned  the 
Fond  du  Lac  river  at  what  is  now  Brooke  street  and  the  North- 
western Railroad,  and  it  may  now  be  considered  a  fixed  fact  that 
the  main  part  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  House  was  built  previous  to  that 
date  by  the  soldiers  for  shelter.  But  in  1836,  the  Fond  du  Lac  Com- 
pany, having  bought  the  land  on  which  the  city  stands,  needed  shelter 
for  settlers,  and  in  that  and  the  two  following  years  built  the  three 
additions  to  it,  so  familiar  in  after  years.  It  was  long  an  important 
point  in  the  settlement,  as  it  was  the  hotel,  the  store,  the  postoffice, 
the  general  trading  point  and  river  crossing.  The  first  family  in  it 
was  that  of  Colwert  Pier  in  1836,  and  here  it  was  that  Mrs.  Pier 
died  and  which  was  the  first  death  in  the  county  of  a  white  settler. 
Wm.  Carey,  father  of  our  well  known  citizen,  E.  A.  Carey  and  Mrs. 
Laughlin  and  Mrs.  Perry,  also  died  in  this  house.  At  one  time  in  the 
early  forties  there  were  four  families  domiciled  in  it,  besides  being 
a  hotel,  store,  postoffice  and  general  business  resort.  In  after  years 
many  well  known  families  had  homes  in  it,  among  them  that  of  John 
Kuicks,  father  of  our  present  well  known  business  man,  H.  P.  Kuicks, 
and  Henry  has  many  boy  recollections  of  the  old  house.     Mrs.  A.  W. 


82  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Chapman  passed  most  of  her  life  near  it  and  was  in  the  place 
hundreds  of  times.  George  McWilliams  was  a  member  of  the  Fond 
du  Lac  Company,  and  as  the  local  manager  long  had  a  room  there. 
Along  toward  the  last  the  old  house,  after  use  of  nearly  thirty  years, 
went  into  decay  and  was  torn  away  in  1864.  The  logs  that  were  in  it 
may  yet  be  seen  on  the  garden  farm  of  Mr.  Boulay,  east  of  the  city. 
For  many  years  and  to  the  time  of  the  removal  of  the  house,  the 
property  was  owned  by  Robert  A.  Baker.  The  location  of  the  house 
was  east  of  the  railroad  track  and  between  Johnson  street  and  the 
river. 

The  Fond  du  Lac  Company,  that  took  such  a  prominent  part 
in  the  early  history  of  this  region,  was  organized  at  Green  Bay  in 
1835,  the  stockholders  and  the  number  of  shares  held  by  each  was 
as  follows : 

J.  D.  Doty,  46  shares.  Henry  S.  Baird,  3. 

Wm.  Hathaway,  12.  M.  G.  Merrill,  10. 

John  P.  Arndt,  40.  R.  S.  Satterlee,  20. 

George  McWilliams,  20.  Silas  Steadman,  10. 

B.  B.  Cluney,  10.  Samuel  Ryan,  7. 
R.  B.  Marcey,  4.                            Alex.  J.  Irwin,  4. 
F.  F.  Hamilton,  35.  David  Jones,  15. 
David  Ward,  3.  W.  Alexander,  4. 
Bush,  Reese  &  Co.,  6.  E.  Childs,  14. 

C.  C.  Libbey,  12.  M.  Scott,  3. 
William  Brown,  64. 

300  shares  of  $100  each,  a  total  of  $30,000. 
James  Duane  Doty,  President. 
J.  P.  Arndt,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

David  Jones,  Geo.  McWilliams,  F.  F.  Hamilton,  W.  H.  Bruce, 
Directors. 


Threshing  and  Fanning  Mills. 

A  few  of  the  old  fashioned  grain  cradles  are  still  used  in  the 
potato  regions  of  Waushara,  Marquette  and  Portage  counties.  They 
are  not  used  to  cultivate  or  dig  potatoes,  but  to  cut  the  small  amount 
of  grain  raised  on  the  sand  for  food.  Very  few  potato  growers  sow 
enough  grain  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  money  to  buy  a  harvester. 
In  early  days  grain  cradles  were  used  in  Fond  du  Lac  county  and 
Uncle  M.  Farnsworth  made  hundreds  of  them  every  year,  but  they 
do  not  belong  to  the  farmer's  outfit  now  and  there  are  doubtless 
many  farmers  now  who  do  not  know  what  they  are  or  what  they 
look  like.  Well,  they  don't  look  like  anything  else  on  the  earth  or 
waters  under  the  earth,  yet  they  serve  the  purpose  very  well  in  a 
new  country,  or  where  the  amount  of  grain  raised  is  limited.  The 
cradle  was  a  great  improvement  on  the  sickle,  but  there  are  people 
still  living  who  have  seen  grain  cut  with  a  sickle.  Fanning  Mills — 
the  early  day  people  didn't  have  any.  They  threshed  the  grain  out 
with  a  flail,  put  it  in  a  large  pan  and  tossing  it  up,  let  the  wind  blow 
out  the  chaff. 


\VAS  NOT  MANY  YEARS  AGO 


Referring  to  Back  Dates  Some  of  the  Remarkable  Years  of  the  Past 
are  Noted.     Many  of  Them  Forgotten. 


For  the  information  of  the  young  and  the  curious,  it  may  be 
stated : 

That  seventy-five  years  ago  there  was  not  a  mile  of  railroad  in 
this  country. 

Sixty  years  ago  the  first  telegraph  line  was  put  up  in  this  country. 

Thirty-five  years  ago  the  telephone  was  wholly  unknown. 

Twenty  years  ago  the  electric  light  was  unknown  to  the  people. 

Twenty  years  ago  there  was  not  a  gasoline  engine  in  existence. 

Thirty-five  years  ago  there  were  no  bicycles,  and  the  first  ones 
had  one  high  wheel  and  one  little  one. 

Six  years  ago  there  were  no  automobiles  running  on  our  streets. 

Fifty-five  years  ago  the  first  street  cars  in  the  world  were  started 
in  London  by  George  Francis  Train. 

Sixty  years  ago  the  first  postage  stamps  were  used  in  this 
country,  and  they  were  for  five  and  ten  cents. 

Sixty  years  ago  you  could  prepay  postage  or  not  on  your  letter, 
as  you  pleased.  If  the  letter  was  to  go  300  miles  the  postage  was 
ten  cents. 

Seventy  years  ago,  if  your  letter  was  in  two  pieces,  ever  so 
small,  you  must  pay  double  postage  on    it 

Sixty  years  ago  postage  on  letters  was  6^,  12^  and  25  cents. 
The  rate  doubled  if  the  letter  went  300  miles  or  over. 

Sixty  years  ago  the  first  envelopes  were  used  for  letters.  Pre- 
vious to  that  time  they  were  folded  and  sealed  with  a  wafer. 

Thirty-five  years  ago  all  letters  were  wrapped  in  the  mailing 
postoffice,   and 

Fifty  years  ago  letters  were  accompanied  by  a  way  bill  from 
the  mailing  office. 

Seventy  years  ago  printers  did  not  have  rollers  to  ink  their 
forms. 

Eighty  years  ago  there  was  not  a  cylinder  printing  press  in  the 
United  States. 

Twenty  years  ago  all  type  for  printing  was  set  by  hand  and  the 
Linotype  machine  has  been  in  successful  use  less  than  ten  years. 

Fifty-eight  years  ago  petroleum  was  discovered  in  Pennsylvania. 

Fifty-five  years  ago  there  was  not  a  gallon  of  refined  kerosene 
or  a  kerosene  lamp  in  existence. 

Sixty-five  years  ago  the  only  methods  of  domestic  lighting  was 
candles  and  lard  oil  lamps. 

Thirty-five  years  ago  the  first  flour  was  made  by  the  roller 
process,  instead  of  burr  mill  stones. 


84  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Sixty-five  years  ago  the  contest  was  on  between  Fond  du  Lac 
and  Taycheedah  for  the  location  of  the  county  seat. 

Fifty  years  ago  the  pioneer  business  men  were  all  here,  now 
they  are  all  gone. 

Fifty-five  years  ago  ground  was  broken  for  what  is  now  the 
Northwestern  road. 

Thirty  years  ago  the  narrow  gauge,  now  the  St.  Paul  road,  was 
opened  to  Iron  Ridge. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  the  Wisconsin  Central  was  built  from 
Neenah  to  Fond  du  Lac. 

Twenty  years   ago   the   Fond  du   Lac   Waterworks  was   started. 

Sixty  years  ago  the  first  reapers  were  made  by  the  McCormicks, 
the  first  in  existence. 

Forty  years  ago  the  war  of  the  rebellion  ended.  Gen.  Lee  sur- 
rendering to  Gen.  Grant. 

Fifty-five  years  ago  the  old  Darling  block  was  the  largest  and 
best  building  in  Fond  du  Lac. 

Forty  years  ago  there  wasn't  a  foot  of  pavement  in  Fond  du 
Lac,  and  30  years  ago  there  wasn't  a  sewer. 

Thirty-five  years  ago  the  railroad  was  not  built  to  Ripon,  and  a 
stage  made  three  trips  a  week. 

Fifty-five  years  ago  Ripon  had  no  existence  even  in  the  brain  of 
Capt.  j\lapes,  or  of  anyone  else. 

Forty-eight  years  ago  there  was  thick  woods  where  the  Gurney 
plant  is  now. 

Fifty-one  years  ago  the  Baptist  Church  took  its  position,  corner 
of  Forest  and  Union,  where  it  is  yet. 

Forty-two  years  ago  the  Presbyterian  Church  was  moved  from 
Rees  to  its  present  location  on  Sheboygan  street. 

Twenty-one  years  ago  the  present  court  house  was  first  occu- 
pied by  county  officers. 

Fifty-six  years  ago  the  old  court  house  was  first  occupied  by 
county  officers. 

Thirty-three  years  ago  the  present  jail  and  sheriff's  residence 
were  occupied  by  prisoners  and  the  sheriff's  family. 

Forty-six  years  ago  not  a  pound  of  coal  was  sold  in  Fond  du  Lac 
for  fuel.  The  fuel  used  was  wood  and  was  sold  on  the  streets  from 
wagons. 

Forty-eight  years  ago  wagons  were  often  stuck  fast  in  mud  holes 
on  Main  street. 

Forty-eight  years  ago  Charles  R.  Harrison,  as  the  foreman,  took 
Fire  Company  No.  3  to  Milwaukee  and  won  the  silver  trumpet  at  the 
State  Firemen's  Tournament. 

Twenty-nine  years  ago  the  first  Northern  State  Fair  was  held 
at  Oshkosh  and  was  a  success.  The  third  attempt  was  almost  a 
failure  and  the  northern  fairs  were  held  no  more. 


It  was  a  frequent  occurrence  for  prisoners  to  escape  from  the 
old  jail  in  the  basement  of  the  old  court  house,  yet  the  Sheriffs  of 
later  days  have  lost  as  many. 


HISTORY  OF  ELECTIONS 


Results  of  Village,  City,  County  and  State  Elections  from   1847  to 

1904.     Successful  and  Unsuccessful 

Candidates. 


The  following  compilation  of  election  events,  will  pay  well  for 
the  space  used.  It  was  not  always  easy  to  secure  the  names  of  the 
successful  candidates  in  their  order,  but  far  more  difficult  to  find  and 
record  the  names  of  their  opponents.  All  this  fund  of  information 
of  especial  value  for  reference  is  here  given  and  prevented  from  being 
forever  lost. 

In  the  lists  of  names,  the  first  after  the  date  is  that  of  the  suc- 
cessful candidate  and  the  second  is  that  of  the  unsuccessful  candidate 
for  the  office. 

In  the  elections  for  Governor  of  the  state,  there  have  been  at 
times  Prohibition,  Greenback,  Socialist,  Labor  Union  and  perhaps 
other  candidates,  but  it  is  deemed  sufficient  to  give  here  the  names 
of  those  of  the  two  leading  parties. 

Village  of  Fond  du  Lac. 

The  village  of  Fond  du  Lac,  separate  from  the  town,  came  in 
1847,  with  the  following  officers : 

President — Dr.  Mason  C.  Darling. 

Clerk — William  A.   Dewey. 

Treasurer — Erastus  W.  Drury. 

Justices  of  the  Peace — J.  J.  Driggs,  A.  Raymond. 

Constables— Carmi  Wright,  F.  D.  McCarty. 

Trustees — John  A.  Eastman,  W.  T.  Gibson,  T.  L.  Gillet,  Isaac 
Brown,  S.  S.  N.  Fuller,  J.  J.  Driggs. 

The  subsequent  presidents  of  the  village  up  to  organization  of 
city  in  1852,  were  George  AlcWilliams,  John  Bannister,  Isaac  Brown 
and  D.  R.  Curran. 

Early   Day  Population. 

Population  1847 — 5i9-  Ii"*  1850 — 1.940.  In  1855 — 4.000.  In 
1857 — 7,000.  The  increase  of  population  in  1856  was  believed  to  be 
the  greatest  in  any  one  year  in  its  history.  In  1861  when  the  war 
came  on  and  the  car  shops  moved  away,  the  population  of  the  city 
was  at  a  standstill  for  some  years,  if  indeed,  it  did  not  go  backward. 

The  votes  polled  in  the  entire  county  for  Governor  in  1848  were 
for  Dewey,  640;  Tweedy,  389;  total  1,249.  The  total  vote  in  the 
county  in  1904  was  11,954. 


86 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


Following  are  the 
from  the  origin  of  the 


MAYORS. 


City  of  Fond  du  Lac. 

names  of  the  Tvlayors  and  Clerks  of  the  city 
city  government  in  1852: 

CLERKS. 


1852— 

1853— 

1854— 

1855— 

1856— 

1857- 

1858- 

1859— 

1860- 

1861- 

1862- 

1863- 

1864- 

1865- 

1866- 

1867- 

1868- 

1869- 

1870- 

1871- 

1872- 

1873- 

1874- 

1875- 

1876- 

1877- 

1878- 

1879- 

1880- 

1881- 

1882- 

1883- 

1884- 

1885- 

1886 

1887 


1889- 
1890- 
1891 
1892 


1893- 
1894- 
1895- 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 


M.    C.    Darling. 
■Geo.  McWilliams. 
■Geo.  McWilliams. 
-M.    C.    Darling. 
-D.  E.   Hoskins 
-I.   S.   Sherwood. 
-John  Bannister. 
-John  Potter. 
-E.   H.   Galloway. 
-J  M.  Taylor. 
-A.   D.   Bonesteel. 
-A.  D.  Bonesteel. 
-J.  M.  Taylor. 
-J.  M.  Taylor. 
-James  Sawyer. 
-W.  H.  Hiner. 
-C.  J.  L.  Meyer. 
-John   Nichols. 
-T.   J.   Patchen. 
-E.  N.  Foster. 
-E.    N.    Foster. 
-Alex.   McDonald. 
-H.  H.   Dodd. 
-G.  W.  Lusk. 
-G.  W.  Lusk. 
— C.  A.  Galloway. 
— Orin   Hatch. 
— S.    S.    Bowers. 
— S.  S.  Bowers. 
— S.    S.    Bowers. 
— T.  F.  Mayham. 
— T.   F.  Mayham 
— T.   F.   Mayham. 
— John   Hughes. 
— T.  F.  Mayham. 
— C.  R.   Harrison. 
— Alex.   McDonald. 

B.    F.    Sweet. 

B.  F.   Sweet. 

•T.  F.  Mayham. 

-E.    McLaughlin. 

S.    S.    Bowers. 

-T.  F.  Mayham. 

-T.   F.   Mayham. 

-E.   E.   Atkins. 

-B.  F.   Sweet. 

-L.  A.  Ehrhart. 

-T.  F.  Mayham. 

-F.  B.  Hoskins. 

-F.  B.     Hoskins. 


Wm.  A.  Dewey. 
G.  W.   Sawyer. 
G.  W.  Sawyer. 
E.  A.   Brown. 
S.  D.  Stanchfield. 
S.  D.  Stanchfield. 
A.  H.  Boardman. 
A.  H.  Boardman. 
C.  A.  Handt. 
C.  A.  Handt. 
A.  H.  Boardman. 
A.   H.  Boardman. 
Edward  Bissell. 
Geo.  P.  Knowles. 
L.  Q.  Olcott. 
L.  Q.  Olcott. 
L.  Q.  Olcott. 
G.   F.   Brownson. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,.  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 
E.  Delany,  Jr. 

E.  Delany,  Jr. 

E.  Delany,  Jr. 

E.  Delany,  Jr. 

E.  Delany,  Jr. 

F.  A.  Bartlett. 
F.  A.  Bartlett. 
F.  A.  Bartlett. 
F.  A.  Bartlett. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


87 


1901— F.  B.  Hoskins. 
1902— L.  A.  Bishop. 
1903— L.  A.  Bishop 
1904— John  Hughes. 


F.  A.  Bartlett. 

F.  A.  Bartlett. 

F.  A.  Bartlett. 

F.  A.  Bartlett. 


Sheriff. 

Below  are  the  names  of  the  elected  and  defeated  candidates  for 
Sheriff,  since  Wisconsin  has  been  a  state : 


ELECTED 

1848— F.  F.  Davis. 
1850— F.  D.  McCarty. 
1852 — Robt.   Jenkinson. 
1854 — Edward    Beaver. 
185C— G.  W.  Mitchell 
1858 — Andrus  Burnham. 
18C0— Geo.   F.  Wheeler. 
18G2— J.  L.  D.  Eycleshimer. 
18G4— H.   A.   Francis. 
18CG— John   Peacock. 
1868- H.    S.   Town. 
1870— M.  B.  Pierce. 
1872— Peter  Rupp. 
1874— Nicholas  Klotz 
187G— Hazen   R.    Hill. 
1878— Edward  Colman 
1880— John  C.  Pierron. 
1882— Neil  C.  Bell. 
1884— Fred  Konz. 
188G— W.  E.   Warren. 
1888— Thos.  Gale. 
1890— David  Whitton. 
1892— Peter   Brucker. 
1894- Geo.    W.    Watson. 
1896- Simon    Schafer. 
1898— Chas.  W.  Keys. 
1900— B.   Sheridan. 
1902— T.  G.   Sullivan. 
1904— J.  C.  Harcum. 


DEFEATED 

S.  W.  Baldwin. 
Jonathan   Dougherty. 
Fayette  Brown. 
D.  V.   L.   Huntington. 

C.  V.  N.  Brundage 

F.  D.  McCarty. 
A.   C.   Bobbins 
H.    T.   Henten. 

D.  R.  Curran 
No  opposition. 
Aaron   Walters. 

J.  L.  D.  Eycleshimer. 
N.   L.   Bullis. 
T.  C.  Lanham. 
L.  F.  Green. 

E.  T.  Effner. 
W.  A.  Adamson. 

G.  W.  Lusk. 

Frank  H.  Bruett. 
L.   Manderscheid. 
A.   E.   Austin. 
Thos.  Gale. 
G.  F.  Brown. 
Bernard  Sheridan. 
Albert  Hasler. 
A.  H.  Hobbs. 
J.  C.  Harcum 
Matt.  Loehr. 


Henry  A.  Francis  died  after  serving  a  few  months  as  Sheriff, 
and  his  deputy,  Isaac  Orvis,  assumed  the  duties  of  the  office.  It  was 
contended  that  the  vacancy  should  be  filled  at  the  first  general  elec- 
tion, and  in  the  fall  of  1855,  John  Peacock  was  named  as  a  candidate. 
But  Isaac  Orvis  insisted  that  he,  as  the  deputy  of  ]\Ir.  Francis,  legally 
held  to  the  end  of  the  term,  and  so  there  was  no  candidate  against 
Mr.  Peacock  at  the  polls.  It  was  now  contended  that  the  election 
was  for  the  full  term  and  the  courts  so  decided.  The  early  days 
Sheriffs  lost  some  prisoners  from  the  basement  jail  in  the  old  court 
house,  but  if  they  had  had  the  present  day  slippery  fellows  to  deal 
with,  it  is  doubtful  if  they  could  have  hekf  any. 


88 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 


Register  of  Deeds. 


ELECTED 

1848— Nelson  Wood. 
1850— Nelson  Wood. 
1852— Rudolph  Ebert. 
1854— William  White. 
1856— N.  H.  Jorgensen. 
1858— Solon  G.  Dodge. 
18G0— Solon   G.    Dodge. 
1SG2— M.  W.  Simmons. 
1864— Dana  C.   Lamb. 
1860- Dana  C.  Lamb. 
1868— C.   L.   Encking. 
1870— J.    L.   D.   Eycleshimer. 
1872— J.  L.  D.  Eycleshimer. 
1874— C.  L.  Pierce. 
1876— C.  L.  Pierce. 
1878— F.  B.   Hoskins. 
1880- F.  B.   Hoskins. 
1882— J.  H.  McNeel. 
1884— C.  B.   Bartlett. 
1886— C.   B.   Bartlett. 
1888- S.  G.  Leland. 
1890— Matt.  Serwe. 
1892— Matt.  Serwe. 
1894— P.   G.  VanBlarcom. 
1896— John  E.  Holland. 
1898— John  E.  Holland. 
1900— John  W.   Eggert. 
1902 — James  T.  Dana. 
1904— E.  T.  Markle. 


DEFEATED 

N.  T.  Waterbury. 

N.  T.  Waterbury. 

G.  deNeveu. 

Rudolph  Ebert. 

S.  M.  Smead. 

S.  M.  Fish. 

John  Boyd. 

A.  P.  Mapes. 

S.  M.  Fish. 

D.  C.  Richards. 

H.  T.  Henton. 

D.  C.  Lamb. 

0.  C.  Bissell. 

J.  L.  D.  Eycleshimer. 

M.  J.  Meisen. 

M.  J.  Meisen. 

James  T.  Green. 

H.  J.  Gerpheide. 

S.  G.  Leland 

J.  T.  Tripp. 

Chris.  Serwe. 

S.  G.  Leland. 

A.  L.   Briggs. 

J.  P.  Stone. 

P.  G.  VanBlarcom. 

J.  P.  Tundall. 

J.   T.   Dana. 

J.  W.  Eggert. 

J.  T.  Dana. 


The  record  books  were  unsafe  in  the  old  court  house,  so  in  1854, 
the  cotmty  erected  a  small  stone  building  north  of  the  court  house, 
into  which  the  Register's  ofifice  was  moved  and  remained  there  until 
the  new  court  house  was  occupied  in  1884.  It  was  well  that  this 
move  was  made,  for  the  court  house  did  eventually  btirn. 

Clerk  of  the  Courts. 


ELECTED 

1848 — Isaac  Brown. 
1850— Fayette  S.  Brown. 
1852— J.  J.  Driggs. 
1854— J.  J.  Driggs 
1856— John  C.  Bishop. 
1858 — Edward    Beaver. 
1860— David   Babcock. 
1862— David    Babcock. 
1864— M.   W.   Simmons. 
1866— Geo.  W.  Carter. 
1868— Geo.  W.   Carter. 
1870— M.  McKenna. 
1872— M.  McKenna. 
1874— M.    McKenna. 


DEFEATED 


L.  B.  Hills. 
Isaac  Brown. 
C.  P.  Hammond. 
J.  M.  Judd. 
S.  D.  Stanchfleld. 
A.  H.  Boardman. 
R.   M.   Sawyer. 
Frank  L.  Ruggles. 
A.  H.  Boardman. 
P.  S.  Haner. 
M.  McKenna. 
G.  W.  Carter. 
G.  H.  Francis. 
A.  Maloney. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


89 


ELECTED 

1876 — James  Russell. 
1878— S.   G.  Leland. 
1880— S.  G.  Leland. 
1882— A.   E.  Richter. 
1884— J.  W.  Watson. 
1886— J.  W.  Watson. 
1888— T.  K.   Gillet. 
1890— T   K.    Gillet. 
1892— J.  L.  Carberry. 
1894 — Henry   Hayes. 
1896— A.  E.  Leonard. 
1898— A.  E.  Leonard. 
1900— D.  0.  Williams. 
1902— D.   O.  Williams. 
1904— C,  A.  Worthing. 


DEFEATED 

Wm.  Blair. 
James  Russell. 

E.  Blewett. 
James  Bannon 
A.  E.  Richter. 
Thos.  Gale. 

F.  D.  Luther. 
Thos.  Gale. 
A.  H.  Bassett. 

G.  L.   Garberry. 
J.  J.  Stratz 
Peter   Schrooten. 
S.  B.  Tredway. 
N.  Lange. 

J.  W.  Pinch. 


The  work  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Court  was  somewhat  increased 
when  the  jurisdiction  of  the  county  court  was  extended,  about  1878, 
by  making  him  clerk  of  the  county  as  well  as  the  circuit  court.  The 
office  of  Clerk  of  the  Courts  was  also  moved  from  the  stone  building 
in   1884. 

County  Clerk. 


ELECTED 

DEFEATED 

1848- 

-Eli   Hooker. 

P. 

V. 

Sang. 

1850- 

-G. 

J. 

Allen. 

P. 

Meiklejohn. 

1852- 

-A. 

W 

.  Paine. 

0. 

S. 

Wright. 

1854- 

-A. 

A. 

Armstrong. 

Ghas. 

Willard. 

1856- 

-G. 

F. 

Kalk. 

J. 

A. 

Smith. 

1858- 

-J. 

V. 

McGall. 

G. 

F. 

Kalk. 

1860- 

-A. 

B. 

Gary. 

John 

Manel. 

1862- 

-G. 

w. 

,  Prescott. 

A. 

D, 

,   Bonesteel. 

1864- 

-G. 

W 

.   Prescott. 

Ghas. 

Geisse. 

1866- 

-C. 

H. 

DeGroat. 

John  Wormwood. 

1868- 

-G. 

H. 

DeGroat. 

E. 

G. 

Sherwin. 

1870- 

-W. 

H. 

F.  Smith. 

H. 

R. 

Johnson. 

1872- 

-W. 

H 

.  F.  Smith. 

Gust. 

Burghardt. 

1874- 

-H. 

I. 

Davidson. 

M. 

B. 

Pride. 

1876- 

-E. 

Blewett. 

J. 

A. 

Brundage. 

1878- 

-E. 

Blewett. 

J. 

W. 

Oliver. 

1880- 

-A. 

G. 

Jeleff. 

Oscar 

Berry. 

1882- 

-D. 

E. 

Whiting. 

A. 

G. 

Jeleff. 

1884- 

-Mark 

Grain. 

D. 

E. 

Whiting. 

1886- 

-Ma 

irk 

Grain. 

J. 

F. 

Susan. 

1888- 

-Mark 

Grain. 

G. 

L. 

Ladwig. 

1890- 

-Owen 

Ferguson. 

G. 

W. 

Watson. 

1892- 

-Owen 

Ferguson. 

V. 

M. 

Weeks. 

.      1894- 

-Owen 

Ferguson. 

H. 

Stan  wood. 

1896- 

-G. 

B. 

Atkins. 

Owen 

Ferguson. 

1898- 

-A. 

Schussler. 

G. 

E. 

Atkins. 

1900- 

-A. 

R. 

Wilkinson. 

A. 

Schussler. 

1902- 

-A. 

Schussler. 

A. 

R. 

Wilkinson. 

1904- 

-A. 

R. 

Wilkinson. 

A. 

Schussler. 

Cle 

■rk  of  the  Board  of  Si 

npervisors 

was  the  title 

of  this 

office  until 

1874,  w 

'hen  it  was  changed 

to  County  Clerk.     The 

only  : 

irregularity 

90 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


in  this  office  in  Fond  du  Lac  county  to  claim  mnch  attention,  was 
during  the  official  life  of  W.  H.  F.  Smith  in  1870  and  1872,  and  of 
Owen  Ferguson  from  1890  to  1896. 

The  Commissioner  System, 

The  commissioner  system  of  county  government  was  once  tried 
in  this  state,  but  was  short  lived.  It  was  thought  by  many  that  the 
county  board  was  too  much  of  a  legislative  system,  and  in  1866  was 
changed  to  commissioners.  This  county  had  five  and  their  terms 
of  office  were  so  arranged  that  two  went  out  each  year.  But  it  was 
unsatisfactory  and  the  people  soon  began  to  petition  the  legislature 
for  a  re-enactment  of  the  old  law.  D.  W.  Maxon,  'of  Washington 
county,  led  the  revolt,  and  as  a  member  of  the  legislature  in  1876, 
succeeded  in  retiring  the  commissioners.  Petitions  by  hundreds 
came  from  the  people  of  the  state.  That  the  county  board  system 
is  expensive  and  cumbersome,  had  no  influence,  and  Mr.  Maxon  got 
his  bill  through  by  a  large  majority.  During  the  time  the  commis- 
sioner system  was  in  force,  the  following  named  gentlemen  served 
on  the  board  in  this  county : 


A.  M.  Skeels,  Ripon. 
E.  P.  West,  Ripon. 
Wm.  Hobkirk,  Waupun. 
E.   L.  Runals,  Ripon. 
J.   Wagner,   Marshfield. 


ELECTED 

1848— K.    Gillet. 
1850— P.  V.   Sang. 
1852 — D.  R.  Curran. 
1854 — R.    Jenkinson 
185G— A.  J.  Reid. 
1858— J.  B.  Wilber. 
1860— John  Potter. 
1862— C.  C.  L.  Webster. 
18G4— J.  A.   Smith. 
1866— Thos.    Bryant. 
1868— Thos.  Bryant. 
1870— B.  Beeson. 
1872 — E.  Beeson. 
1874— John  W.  Hall. 
1876- J.   C.   Perry. 
1878 — L.  Manderscheid. 
1880 — L.  Manderscheid. 
1882— C.  F.  G.  Wernicke. 
1884 — Louis  Muenter. 
1886 — Louis  Muenter. 
1888 — Louis  Muenter. 
1890 — Louis   Muenter. 
1892 — Louis   Muenter. 
1894— F.  J.  Rueping. 
1896 — David    Thomas. 
1898— H.  R.   Potter. 


E.  H.  Galloway,  Fond  du  Lac. 
Aaron   Walters,  Eden. 
C.   D.   Gage,   Auburn. 
Geo.  Giddings,  Empire. 

County  Treasurer. 

DEFEATED 

S.    Sanborn. 
Nat.   Waterbury. 
C.  J.  Case. 
T.    S.    Brown. 
J.  M.  Judd. 
G.  W.   Sawyer. 
J.  B.  Wilber. 
John   Potter. 
J.  W.  Hall. 
J.   A.    Smith. 
A.   Cooley. 
H.  C.  Graffam. 
John   Potter. 
0.   H.   Adams. 
A.  A.  Loper. 
A.   H.  Bruett. 
A.   H.   Bassett. 
Henry  Bolens. 
G.  C.  Hill. 
G.  C.  Hill. 
Ellis  Whiting. 
M.  J.  Althouse. 
M.  W.  Simmons. 
S.   Simons. 
G.    W.    Jackson. 
David  Thomas. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


91 


ELECTED  DEFEATED 

1900— A.  C.  Dallman.  H.  R.  Potter. 

1902— E.  H.  Lyons.  E.  W.  Clark. 

1904— E.  H.  Lyons.  G.  H.  Moore. 

Irregularities  have  occurred  twice  in  the  history  of  the  Treas- 
urer's office  of  Fond  du  Lac  county.  The  first  during  the  term  of 
Andrew  J.  Reid,  in  1856.  The  books  were  so  badly  kept,  or  not  kept 
at  all,  that  the  committee  of  the  county  board,  E.  S.  Bragg,  Capt. 
Wm.  Plocker  and  C.  D.  Gage,  reported  a  specimen  of  bookkeeping 
unsurpassed  in  the  Fiji  Islands.  Fred  Kalk  and  J.  V.  McCall,  as 
experts,  worked  on  the  books  and  papers,  and  Reid's  bondsmen  paid 
what  was  said  to  be  due. 

For  several  years  the  county  board  levied  a  percentage  of  tax 
for  a  court  house  fund.  In  1880,  E.  L.  Runals,  a  member  of  the  board 
from  Ripon,  noticed  that  the  court  house  fund  had  disappeared  from 
the  report  of  the  clerk  and  he  wanted  to  know  where  it  was.  He 
got  a  resolution  passed  to  employ  a  first-class  expert  on  the  books, 
with  the  result  that  it  was  found  that  the  lost  fund  had  been  used 
for  general  purposes  and  not  charged  to  the  general  fund.  It  had 
not  been  stolen,  but  another  startling  fact  was  developed,  that  there 
had  not  been  a  correct  settlement  with  the  County  Treasurer  in  six- 
teen years — a  wrong  system  of  figuring  had  been  practiced  bv  the 
inexperienced  county  board  committees,  and  the  county  was  the 
loser  by  many  thousands  of  dollars.  The  amount  found  due  from 
some  of  the  treasurers  was  small  and  some  quite  large,  and  to  their 
credit  be  it  said,  they  all  paid  promptly.  The  expert  found  that  the 
only  correct  settlements  made  from  1862  to  1878,  was  bv  T-  C.  Perry 
as  the  Treasurer  in  1876  and  1878.  It  was  all  of  wrong  figuring  in 
settlements,  not  dishonesty. 


District  Attorney. 


ELECTED 

1848— S.   S.  N.  Puller. 
1850— L  S.  Tallmadge. 
1852— W.   H.   Ebbets. 
1854— E.    S.    Bragg. 
1856— L    S.    Tallmadge. 
1858— A.  W.  Paine. 
1860 — James  Coleman. 
1862 — James  Coleman. 
1864— George  Perkins. 
1866 — George    Perkins. 
1868 — George  Perkins. 
1870— Geo.  P.  Knowles. 
1872— S.   L.    Brasted. 
1874— S.  L.  Brasted. 
1876— N.   S.  Gilson. 
1878— J.  J.   Fooote. 
1880— F.   F.   Duffy. 
1882— F.  F.  Duffy. 
1884— F.   F.   Duffy. 
1886— J.   H.   McCrory. 


DEFEATED 

W.  C.  Dodge. 
J.    C.    Truesdell. 
D.  E.  Wood. 
Emerson   Hodges. 
J.  J.  Poote. 
W.  D.  Conklin. 
Jay    Mayham. 
J.  Dobbs,  Jr. 
H.  P.  Rose. 
A.  P.  Mapes. 
H.  F.  Rose. 
L  H.  Hauser. 
J.  J.  Foote. 
J.  J.  Foote. 
S.   L.  Brasted. 
W.  W.  D.  Turner. 
W.  W.  D.  Turner. 
A.  E.  Bovay. 
H.  J.  Parkhill. 
J.  F.  Ware. 


92 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


1888— J.  H. 
1S90— J.  H. 
1892— J.  H. 
1894— H.  E. 
1896— H.  E. 
1898— M.  K. 
1900— R.  L. 
1902— R.  L. 
1904— B.  P. 


ELECTED 

McCrory- 
McCrory. 
McCrory. 
Swett. 

Swett. 
Reilly. 
Morse. 
Morse. 

Worthing. 


DEFEATED 

J.  W.  Hiner. 
G.  W.  Carter. 
S.  J.  Morse. 
J.  H.  McCrory. 
A.  B.   Schuchardt. 
T.  J.  Hoey. 
M.  K.  Reilly. 
J.  G.  Hardgrove. 
J.  G.  Hardgrove. 


County  Surveyor. 


ELECTED 

1848 — H.  W.  Newton. 
1850 — J.  S.  Dalman. 
1852 — J.  E.  Tompkins. 
1854 — J.  E.  Tompkins. 
1856— H.   W.   Newton. 
1858 — Jas.   Fairbanks. 
1860- Lathrop   Ellis. 
1862— Lathrop   Ellis. 
1864— Lathrop   Ellis. 
1866— J.  DeVry. 
1868— H.  W.  Newton. 
1870 — Jos.  Haessly. 
1872 — Jos.  Haessly. 
1874 — J.  W.  Bowe. 
1876 — Jos.    Haessly. 
1878 — Jos.  Haessly. 
1880 — Jos.   Haessly. 
1882— Jos.  Haessly. 
1884 — Jos.    Haessly. 
1886— Jos.  Haessly. 
1888— Jos.  Haessly. 
1890— W.   H.   Ferber. 
1892— Jos.    Haessly. 
1894— B.   K.    Fairbanks, 
1896 — B.   K.   Fairbanks. 
1898 — B.  K.  Fairbanks. 
1900 — B.    K.    Fairbanks. 
1902 — J.  R.  Stewart. 
1904 — F.  L.  Anders. 
Joseph   Haessley   was 
and   elected   ten   times. 

ELECTED 

1848 — John    Bannnister. 
1850— A.  Raymond. 
1852 — Isaac  Cooper. 
1854 — Jas.    Hamilton. 
1856— J.   Bassett. 
1858— Geo.    Morse. 
1860 — A.   Armstrong. 
1862— J.  W.   Hall. 


DEFEATED 


Edward   Beeson. 
Lathrop  Ellis. 
E.  Delany. 
P.  O'Laughlin. 
P.  O'Laughlin. 
T.  W.  Coneys. 
P.  O'Laughlin. 
J.  V.  DeVry. 
J.  V.  DeVry. 
P.  O'Laughlin. 
Jos.    Haessly. 
J.  V.  DeVry. 
John  Ross. 
E.   Radford. 
E.   Radford. 
Jas.    Fairbanks. 
Jas.    Fairbanks. 
Jas.   Fairbanks. 
Jas.    Fairbanks. 
H.   W.   Newton. 
H.  W.  Newton. 
H.  W.  Newton. 
H.   W.   Newton. 
Jos.   Haessly. 
Jos.  Haessly. 
Jos.   Haessly. 
H.  Van  Derphide. 
G.  W.  Michael. 
No    opposition, 
nominated   for   this   office   fourteen   times 


Coroner. 


DEFEATED 


Carmi  Wright. 
Carmi  Wright. 
Lewis  Crofoot. 
Lewis  Crofoot. 
A.  S.  Meader. 
Lewis  Crofoot. 
H.  Willard. 
D.   C.   Lamb. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


93 


1864 — Isaac   Tompkins. 
1866— Z.  L.  Chapman. 
1868— Z.  L.  Chapman. 
1870— S.  B.  Taylor. 
1872 — James  O'Reily. 
1874 — Jtmes  O'Reily. 
1876— P.  V.  Sang. 
1878- H.   W.   Burnell. 
1880 — F.  F.   Parsons. 
1882— F.   F.   Parsons. 
1884— F.   F.   Parsons. 
1886— E.  B.  Pride. 
1888- F.   F.   Parsons. 
1890- F.   F.   Parsons. 
1892— F.   F.   Parsons. 
1894— P.  K.   Pickard. 
1896— G.  W.   Worthing. 
1898- G.  W.  Worthing. 
1900— J.  H.  Simmons. 
1902— F.   F.  Parsons. 
1904— H.   H.  Beeman. 


DEFEATED 

Jas.  O'Reily. 
H.  M.  Fredericks. 
Geo.   Willett. 
S.  Valentine. 
H.  D.  Parsons. 
J.  F.  Steele. 
J.  F.  Steele. 
A.  Armstrong. 
H.  D.  Parsons. 
H.  D.  Parsons. 
H.  D.  Parsons. 
J.  T.  Green. 
W.  E.  Jones. 
G.    W.    Watson. 
John   Meiklejohn. 
F.  F.  Parsons. 
F.  F.  Parsons. 
F.  F.  Parsons. 

F.  F.  Parsons. 
J.    H.    Simmons. 

G.  B.  McKnight. 


Superintendent  of  Schools. 


ELECTED 

1864— E.   Root. 
1866—1.   N.   Cundall. 
1868—1.   N.   Cundall. 
1870— W.    L.    O'Conor. 
1872— W.  L.  O'Conor. 
1874— W.   L.    O'Conor. 
1876— D.  B.  Lyon. 
1878— E.   McLoughlin. 
1880— D.  B.  Lyon. 
1882— D.  B.  Lyon. 
1884— Thos.  E.  Lyons. 
1886— Thos.  E.  Lyons. 
1888— A.   T.  Blewett. 
1890— A.   T.   Blewett. 
1892— W.   H.   Ferber. 
1894— Myron    E.    Keats. 
1896— Myron    E.    Keats. 
1898— Myron    E.    Keats. 
1900— A.    B.    Adamson. 
1902— A.  B.  Adamson. 
1904— A.    B.    Adamson. 


DEFEATED 


No  opposition. 
J.  A.  Davenport. 
D.  B.  Lyon. 
I.   N.   Cundall. 

D.  B.  Lyon. 
H.   D.  Akin. 
J.   J.   Kelly. 
W.  L.  O'Conor. 
W.  L.  O'Conor. 
W.  L.  O'Conor. 
Kirk  Spoor. 

W.  W.   Pattingill. 
John  Moran. 
John  Moran. 
Wm.  Titus. 
W.  H.  Ferber. 
J.   B.   Conley. 
G.   B.  Kelly. 
G.   B.  Kelly. 
Vincent  Huck. 

E.  P.   Grain. 


The  county  school  system  went  into  effect  in  1864.  Previous 
to  that  time  each  town  had  its  own  Superintendent  of  Schools  to 
examine  the  teachers  and  give  advice,  but  most  of  them  were  very 
slack  in  the  performance  of  their  duties.  To  take  the  election  of 
County  Superintendent  out  of  politics  as  much  as  possible,  three 
years  ago  the  law  was  amended  making  the  election  in  the  spring 
instead  of  in  the  fall. 


94  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 

Fond  du  Lac  Legislators. 

The  constitution  of  Wisconsin  provides  that  the  number  of 
Senators  shall  not  exceed  thirty-three,  and  Assemblymen  lOO.  For 
some  years  the  number  provided  for  was  less  than  this,  but  as  popu- 
lation increased  the  number  was  increased  until  the  entire  number 
was  allowed.  As  the  state  develops,  especially  northward,  .we  of  the 
older  counties  suffer  a  diminution  in  legislative  representation.  Be- 
low is  the  names  of  the  Senators  from  this  county  and  their  op- 
ponents in  the  election  from  the  beginning  of  the  state  government: 

ELECTED  DEFEATED 

1848 — Warren  Chase.  J.  A.  Eastman. 

1850— J.  A.  Eastman.  J.   M.   Gillet. 

1852— B.    Pinkney.  J.  H.  Powel. 

1854— C.    A.    Eldredge.  Geo.    D.    Curtis. 

1856 — Edward    Pier.  John  Boyd. 

1858 — Edward    Pier.  A.   C.  Bobbins. 

1860— E.   L.   Phillips.  D.   E.   Hoskins. 

1862— G.  W.  Mitchell.  J.  M.  Gillet. 

1864— G.  F.  Wheeler.  G.  W.  Mitchell. 

1866— E.   S.   Bragg.  J.    Bowen. 

1868 — E.  S.  Bragg.  Orin  Hatch. 

1870 — H.  S.  Town.  J.   K.   Fairbanks. 

1872— W.  H.  Hiner.  J.  Dobbs,  Jr. 

1874— W.    H.    Hiner.  A.   C.   Whitng. 

1876 — W.  H.  Hiner.  James    Russell. 

1878— A.  A.  Loper.  G.   W.   Lusk. 

1880— G.    E.    Sutherland.  T.   K.   Gillet. 

1882 — E.   Colman.  David   Whitton. 

1884 — J.   F.   Ware.  John  Hughes. 

1886— Ignatius  Klotz.  L.  W.  Thayer. 

1888 — S.    B.    Stanchfield.  James  Fenelon. 

1892— S.  M.  Smead.  C.   S.  Lusk. 

1894— L.  W.   Thayer.  Ignatius  Klotz. 

1896— L.  W.   Thayer.  B.  F.   Sweet. 

1900 — Elmer    P.    Morse.  L.  A.  Lange. 

1904— C.  H.   Smith.  O.  A.  Piggott. 

In  the  legislative  apportionment  of  1870,  three  of  the  eastern 
towns  of  Fond  du  Lac  county  were  detached  from  the  Eighteenth 
Senate  District  and  added  to  Sheboygan  county  to  form  the  Twentieth 
Senate  District,  and  in  1876,  Daniel  Cavanaugh,  of  Osceola, 
was  elected  Senator  for  that  district.  In  the  apportionment  of  1880, 
the  three  towns  were  restored  to  the  Eighteenth  District  and  no 
change  was  made  until  1900,  when  Green  Lake  county  was  added 
to  the  Eighteenth  District  and  Elmer  P.  Morse  elected  Senator.  In 
1904  C.  H.  Smith  was  chosen  Senator. 

Members  of  Assembly. 

William  A.   Adamson,  1880.  L.  A.  Lange,  1893-1895-1897-1899. 

Frank   L.    Bacon,   1895.  James   Laferty,   1874. 

Ezekiel  Babcock,  1882.  J.    C.    Lewis,    1859-1860. 

John  A.  Baker,  1871.  R.  M.  Lewis,  1873. 

James   Bannon,  1891.  Querin  Loehr,  1853. 

S.  K.  Barnes,  1859.  Peter  Loehr,  1889. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


95 


M.    S.    Barnett,    1851-1857. 

H.  C.   Bottum,   1868-1869-1879. 

Frank  Bowe,  1891. 

J.  Bowen,   1871. 

John  Boyd,  1855-1860-1862-1870. 

Thomas  Boyd,  1865. 

W.   T.   Brooks.   1860-1877. 

J.  H.  Brinkerhoff,  1865. 

Isaac  Brown,  1856. 

Lambert  Brost,  1876-1877. 

J.   Carberry,    1903. 

L.  H.  Carey,   1867. 

D.  Cavanaugh,   1870. 
Seth  A.   Chase,   1868. 
James  Coleman,  1866-1867. 
Elihu   Colman,    1872. 
Jerre  Dobbs,  Jr.,  1870. 
Charles    Doty,    1848. 

W.  H.  Ebbets,  1855. 
Wynn  Edwards,  1897. 
Louis  Eudemiller,  1882. 
Truman  M.  Fay,  1871. 
James  Fenelon,   1901. 
Geo.  H.   Ferris,  1887. 
James  Fitzgerald,  1878. 
Egbert   Foster,   1865. 
Chas.   D.  Gage,  1858-1867. 

E.  H.  Galloway,  1863-1864. 
James  E.   Gee,   1881. 
Charles  Geisse,   1864. 
Philip  Greening,  1879. 
John  W.   Hall,    1861. 
Irenus  K.  Hamilton,  1869. 
C.  F.  Hammond,  1861-1862. 
John  Hardgrove,  1883. 

B.  R.  Harrington,  1855. 
W.  W.  Hatcher,  1862. 
Chester  Hazen,   1885. 
H.   D.   Hitt,   1858. 
George  Hunter,   1875. 
Wm.  T.  Innis,  1877. 
J.   Jacobs,   1903. 
R.  Katz,  1901. 
Charles  L.  Julius,  1851. 
Peter  Johnson,   1856. 
R.  C.  Kelly,  1868. 
Ignatius   Klotz,   1880. 
Nicholas  Klotz,   1868. 
G.  A.  Knapp,  1887. 
Fred  Konz,   1881. 


A.  A.  Loper,  1873. 
S.  C.  Matteson,  1859. 

F.  D.  McCarty,  1858. 
P.  McGalloway,  1895. 
James  McElroy,  1864. 

C.  McLean,    1862. 
John  Meiklejohn,  1882. 
U.   D.   Mihills,   1870-1871. 

B.  F.  Moore,  1852. 
Selim  Newton,  1861. 
M.  L.  Noble,  1849-1850. 
S.  O'Hara,  1863. 

G.  W.   Parker,   1855-1856. 
H.  O.  Peters,  1859. 

Wm.    Plocker,    1875. 

B.  Pinkney,  1850. 

E.  A.  Putnam,  1876. 
H.    A.   Ripley,    1899. 

E.  L.  Runals,  1857. 

F.  W.   Spence,   1877-1879. 
J.   M.    Stock,    1893. 

S.  B.  Stanchfield,  1885. 

H.   Stanton,   18G1. 

Wm.   Starr,  1863-1864. 

A.   A.    Swaim,   1878. 

I.  S.  Tallmadge,  1853-1854. 

M.   Thelan,   1879. 

L.   W.   Thayer,    1893. 

M.  J.  Thomas,  1854-1857. 

G.  T.  Thorn,  1871. 

D.  D.  Treleven,  1880. 
W.  W.   D.   Turner,  1883. 
W.  S.  Tuttle,  1858. 

D.  C.  VanOstrend,  1865. 

Jos.    Wagner,    1856-1858-1866-1867-1868- 

1871. 
Aaron  Walters,  1875-1872. 
J.   F.    Ware,    1880-1881-1883. 
W.   S.   Warner,   1869. 
J.  W.  Watson,   1889,   1891. 
T.   S.  Weeks,  1874. 
F.    M.   Wheeler,   1863. 

C.  A.  Whiting,  1867. 
W.    Whiting,    1859. 

D.  Whitton,   1874. 
J.  B.  Wilbor,  1857. 

E.  Wilcox,    1864. 
M.  Wirtz,  1878. 
Uriah   Wood,   1878. 
A.  J.   Yorty,   1872. 


1848 — Nelson    Dewey. 
1851 — Leonard  J.   Farwell. 
1853— William  A.  Barstow 


Governors  of  Wisconsin. 

John   H.   Tweedy. 

Don  Alonzo   Juan  Upham. 

E.  D.  Holton. 


96 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


1855- 
1855- 
1855- 
1857- 
1859- 
1861- 
18G1- 
1863- 
1865- 
1867- 
1869- 
1871- 
1873- 
1875- 
1877- 
1879- 
1881- 
1883- 
1885- 
1888- 
1890- 
1892- 
1894- 
1896- 
1898- 
1900- 
1902- 
1904- 


-Wm.  A.  Barstow.  Coles    Bashford. 

-Arthur  McArthur,  Lieut.  Governor  and  Governor  during  lawsuit.* 

-Coles    Bashford,    Governor   after  decision  of  the  courts. 

-Alex.    W.    Randall.  James   B.   Cross. 

-Alex.    W.    Randall.  Harrison  C.  Hobart. 

-Louis  P.   Harvey,   Drowned.         James  Ferguson. 

-Edward  Salomon,  Lieut.  Governor  and  successor  of  Gov.  Harvey.x 


-James  T.  Lewis. 
-Lucius    Fairchild. 
-Lucius    Fairchild. 
-Lucius  Fairchild. 
-Cadwalader    C.    Washburn. 
-William    R.    Taylor. 
-Harrison  Ludington. 
-William   E.    Smith. 
-William   E.    Smith. 
-Jeremiah    M.    Rusk. 
-Jeremiah  M.  Rusk. 
-Jeremiah  M.  Rusk. 
-William   D.   Hoard. 
-George  W.  Peck. 
-George  W.  Peck. 
-William  H.  Upham. 
-Edward  Scofield. 
-Edward    Scofield. 
-Robert    M.    LaFollette. 
-Robert    M.    LaFollette, 
-Robert    M.    LaFollette. 


Members 

Following  are  the  names  of 
with  the  years  they  v\^ere  elected 
1848— Mason   C.    Darling. 
1850 — James  Duane  Doty. 
1852— John  B  Macy. 
1854 — Charles    Billinghurst. 
1856— Charles   Billinghurst. 
1858 — Charles  H.  Larrabee. 
1860— A.  Scott  Sloan. 
1862— Charles  A.  Eldredge. 
1864— Charles   A.   Eldredge. 
1866— Charles   A.   Eldredge. 
1868— Charles  A.  Eldredge. 
1870— Charles  A.  Eldredge. 
1872— Charles   A.   Eldredge. 
1874 — Samuel  D.  Burchard. 
1876— Edward  S.  Bragg. 
1878— Edward  S.  Bragg. 
1880— Edward  S.  Bragg. 


Henry  L.  Palmer. 
Harrison   C.   Hobart. 
J.  J.   Tallmadge. 
Charles  D.  Robinson. 
James  R.  Doolittle. 
C.  C.  Washburn. 
William  R.  Taylor. 
J.   A.   Mallory. 
James  G.   Jenkins. 
N.  D.  Fratt. 
N.   D.  Fratt. 
J.  M.  Woodward. 
W.  B.  Morgan. 
William  D.  Hoard. 
J.  C.  Spooner. 
Geo.  W.  Peck. 
W.   C.   Silverthorn. 
Judge    Sawyer. 
J.  M.  Bomrich. 
David  S.  Rose. 
George  W.   Peck. 

of  Congress. 

our  Members  of  Congress  together 
and  names  of  their  opponents: 

Henry   S.   Baird. 

Harrison  C.  Hobart. 

James  McM.  Shatter. 

John  B.  Macy. 

Harrison  C.  Hobart. 

Charles  Billinghurst. 

Charles  H.  Larrabee. 

Edward  S.  Bragg. 

A.   Scott  Sloan. 

Grin  Hatch. 

Leander  F.  Fresby. 

Jerome  A.  Watrous. 

Henry  Baetz. 

Hiram  Barber. 

George  W.  Carter. 

Hiram  Smith. 

Elihu  Colman. 


•Gov.  Barstow  served  unmolested  during  his  first  term,  but  the  returns  canvassed  in  the  elec- 
tion of  1855,  were  some  of  them  so  manifestly  fraudulent  that  his  re-election  was  contested  and  re- 
sulted in  the  Beating  of  Gov.  Bashford.  Pending  the  contest,  Lieut.  Gov.  McArthur  was  acting 
governor. 

X  Gov.  Harvev  was  drowned  at  Pittsburg  Landing  early  in  the  war.  Alter  the  great  battle  of 
Shiloh,  he  was  so  anxious  about  the  Wisconsin  troops  that  he  went  there  to  look  after  them  person- 
ally, and  fell  from  a  steamboat  and  was  drowned  Lieut.  Gov.  Salomon  completed  the  term. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


97 


1882 — Daniel  H.   Sumner. 
1884— Edward   S.   Bragg. 
188G— Richard    Guenther. 
1888— Charles  Barwig. 
1890— Charles  Barwig. 
1892— Owen  A.  Wells. 
1894— Samuel  A.  Cook. 
1896 — James   A.   Davidson. 
1898 — James  A.   Davidson. 
1900 — James  A.  Davidson. 
1902— Charles  Weise. 
1904— Charles  Weise. 


John  S.  Rowell. 
Samuel  S.  Barney. 
Arthur  K.  Delaney. 
Edward   C.   McFetredge. 
Daniel  C.  VanBrunt. 
Emil  Baensch. 
Owen  A.  Wells. 
William  F.   Gruenwald. 
Frank  M.   Stewart. 
James  W.  Watson. 
William  H.  Froelich. 
Roy  P.  Morse. 


United  States  Senators. 


1848— Isaac  P.  Walker. 
1848 — Henry    Dodge. 
1849— Isaac  P.  Walker. 
1857 — Charles  Durkee. 
1857— James  R.  Doolittle. 
1861— Timothy   0.   Howe. 
1863— James   R.   Doolittle. 
1867— Timothy  O.   Howe. 
1869— Matt.   H.   Carpenter. 
1873— Timothy   O.   Howe. 
1875 — Angus   Cameron. 


1879- Math.   H.  Carpenter. 
1881- Philetus   Sawyer. 
1881 — Angus   Cameron. 
188.5— John    C.    Spooner, 
1887— Philetus    Sawyer. 
1891— William  F.  Vilas." 
1893— John  L.  Mitchell. 
1897 — John  C.  Spooner. 
1899 — Joseph  V.  Quarles. 
1903— John  C.  Spooner  . 
1905— Robert  M.  LaFollette. 


Presidential  Candidates. 


1789 — George  Washington. 
1792 — George  Washington. 
1796 — John  Adams. 
1800— Thomas    Jefferson. 
1804 — Thomas   Jefferson. 
1808 — James  Madison. 
1812 — James    Madison. 
1816 — James  Monroe. 
1820 — James  Monroe. 
1824 — John   Quincy   Adams. 
1828 — Andrew  Jackson. 
1832 — Andrew    Jackson. 
1836— Martin  Van  Buren. 
1840— W.   H.   Harrison. 
1844— James  K.  Polk. 
1848— Zachary  Taylor. 
1852— Franklin  Pierce. 
1856 — James    Buchanan. 
1860 — Abraham  Lincoln. 
1864 — Abraham    Lincoln. 
1868- Ulysses   S.   Grant. 
1872— Ulysses  S.  Grant. 
1876— Rutherford  B.  Hayes. 
1880— James  A.  Garfield. 
1884— Grover  Cleveland. 
1888 — Benjamin  Harrison. 
1892— Grover  Cleveland. 


John  Adams. 
John  Adams. 
Thomas  Jefferson. 
John  Adams. 
Charles  C.  Pinckney. 
Charles  C.  Pinckney. 
De  Witt  Clinton. 
Rufus  King. 
John  Quincy  Adams. 
Andrew  Jackson. 
John  Quincy  Adams. 
Henry  Clay. 
W.   H.  Harrison. 
Martin  Van  Buren. 
Henry  Clay. 
Lewis  Cass. 
Winfield  Scott.' 
John  C.  Fremont. 
Stephen  A.  Douglas. 
George  B.   McClellan. 
Horatio   Seymour. 
Horace  Greely. 
Samuel  J.  Tilden. 
W.  S.  Hancock. 
James  G.  Blaine. 
Grover  Cleveland. 
Benjamin  Harrison. 


98  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

1896— William   McKinley.  William   J.    Bryan. 

1900— William   McKinley.  William   J.    Bryan. 

1904 — Theodore  Roosevelt.  A.  F.  Parker. 

In  the  early  clays  of  the  country,  the  number  of  candidates  be- 
fore the  electoral  college  then  were  many.  In  1789  there  were 
twelve  voted  for,  in  1792  there  were  five,  in  1796  no  less  than  seven- 
teen, nearly  all  of  whom  received  very  few  votes.  Again  in  1844 
there  were  seventeen.  The  largest  number  in  late  years  was  nine 
in  1876. 

Many  of  the  campaigns  had  their  noted  features,  but  the  most 
exciting  was  that  of  1876,  when  congress  created  an  electoral  com- 
mission to  settle  the  electoral  tie.  It  came  near  plunging  the  country 
into  another  war. 

The  peculiarities  of  the  election  of  i860  are  too  lengthy  for  in- 
sertion here.  A  history  of  the  time  is  readily  obtainable  and  may 
be  read  with  interest.  The  people  are  not  allowed  to  know  the  inside 
workings  of  politics. 

Five  presidents  died  while  in  office,  two  by  disease  and  three  by 
violence.  The  first  was  W.  H.  Harrison,  elected  with  the  greatest 
enthusiasm,  in  1840,  but  was  in  office  just  one  month  after  inaugura- 
tion March  4,  1841.  Vice-President  John  Tyler  became  president, 
and  as  it  was  called  at  the  time,  "Tylerized."  That  is,  he  violated  the 
pledges  of  the  whig  party  that  elected  hini. 

The  Alexican  war  made  Gen.  Zachary  Taylor  president  in  1848, 
but  died  after  fifteen  months,  when  Vice-President  Millard  Fillmore 
became  president.  He  signed  the  notorious  fugitive  slave  law  and 
did  other  things  which  exasperated  the  whig  party  that  elected  him. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  shot  in  Ford's  theatre,  Washington,  D.  C, 
April  14,  1865,  forty  days  after  his  second  inauguration  and  died  the 
next  day.  Vice-President  Andrew  Johnson  became  president  and  kept 
up  a  running  fight  with  his  party  to  the  end  of  his  term  of  office. 

President  James  A.  Garfield  was  shot  in  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road depot  at  Washington  by  Gitteau,  July  2,-i88i,  and  died  at  Long 
Branch,  September  19th,  six  and  one-half  months  after  his  inaugura- 
tion.   Vice-President  Chester  A.  Arthur  became  president. 

President  William  McKinley  was  shot  by  a  Polish  anarchist 
named  Czgolsz,  in  one  of  the  exposition  buildings  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y., 
September  6,  1901,  died  September  14,  funeral  at  Canton,  Ohio, 
September  19th.  Died  six  months  and  ten  days  after  his  second 
inauguration.     Vice-President  Theodore  Roosevelt  became  president. 

-It  is  believed  by  some  writers  that  the  deaths  of  Presidents  W. 
H.  Harrison  and  Gen.  Taylor  were  intentional  on  the  part  of  some 
men  interested  in  their  absence,  and  that  some  sort  of  poison  was 
used.  At  any  rate  there  has  always  been  more  or  less  of  mystery 
about  them. 


When  the  late  M.  Van  Dresar  was  a  deputy  sheriff  in  1858  and 
kept  the  jail,  he  was  struck  at  one  evening  by  an  escaping  prisoner 
with  a  pair  of  handcuffs,  which  missed  his  head  but  left  a  half  moon 
in  the  plastering  of  the  stone  wall. 


TWO  REMARKABLE  EVENTS 


Elections   of    1876   and    1884 — Electoral   Commission   and   the   Rum, 
Romanism   and    Rebellion   Turning    Point. 


The  result  of  the  election  in  i860  brought  a  disastrous  four  years' 
war,  but  the  election  of  1876  came  very  near  another  disaster,  the 
result  of  which  all  feared,  but  no  one  could  foretell.  The  magazine 
was  planted,  the  train  laid  and  the  match  ready  to  be  struck.  Lead- 
ing men  of  all  parties  trembled.  The  question  of  the  hour  was  not 
what  should  be  done,  but  what  could  be  done.  But  the  people  re- 
joiced then  and  let  them  rejoice  now,  that  there  was  a  James  G. 
Blaine  to  suggest  a  port  of  safety  and  a  means  of  reaching  it.  There 
were  apparent  frauds  on  both  sides  and  which  made  the  electoral 
vote  a  tie.  When  the  electoral  votes  for  president  and  vice-president 
were  counted,  the  returns  from  four  states  were  attacked — Florida, 
South  Carolina,  Louisiana  and  Oregon.  There  was  an  apparent  tie 
vote  existing  between  Hayes  and  Wheeler  and  Tilden  and  Hendricks. 
The  dispute  could  not  be  settled  in  the  usual  way  and  Congress  must 
be  appealed  to.  A  majority  of  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court  and 
the  House  of  Representatives  were  democratic,  the  Senate  and 
national  administration  republican.  After  much  discussion  the  crea- 
tion of  an  electoral  commission  was  agreed  to.  Five  members  of  this 
commission  was  to  come  from  the  House,  five  from  the  Senate  and 
five  from  the  supreme  court,  the  first  four  from  the  supreme  court 
to  choose  the  fifth.    The  commission  when  completed  was  as  follows : 

Supreme  Court^ — Judges  Clifford,  Miller,  Strong,  Field  and 
Bradley. 

Senate — Senators  Edmunds.  Morton,  Frelinghuysen,  Thurman 
and  Bayard.     Sickness  of  Thurman  put  Senator  Kernan  in  his  place. 

House — jNfessrs.  Payne,  Hunton,  Abbott,  Garfield  and  Hurd. 

Lawyers  present  for  republicans — Messrs.  Evarts,  Matthews, 
Shallenburger  and  Sherman. 

For  democrats — Judges  Black,  O'Conor,  Matt.  Carpenter,  Trum- 
bull, Blair,  Green,  Campbell,  Humphrey  and  Gorman. 

The  court  so  constituted,  reviewed  all  the  evidence,  examined  all 
the  papers  and  listened  to  arguments  by  the  eminent  counsel  on  both 
sides  and  decided  8  to  7,  that  Hayes  and  Wheeler  were  legally  elected. 
Feeling  ran  high  among  extreme  partisans,  but  the  better  sense  of 
the  people  prevailed,  realizing  as  they  did,  that  peace  and  prosperity 
was  worth  more  than  four  years  of  the  presidency  or  the 
personal  pride  of  men  or  party.  Here  in  Fond  du  Lac  the  democrats 
of  the  time  were  bitter  talkers  but  peaceful  workers,  and  there  was 
no  trouble.  While  the  talk  and  feeling  was  bitter,  it  is  pleasing  to 
remember  how  soon  the  matter  was  forgotten. 


100  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 

Of  the  members  of  congress  from  Wisconsin  at  this  time,  but 
one,  Judge  Gate,  of  Stevens  Point,  voted  against  the  creation  of  the 
electoral  commission. 

Of  the  fifteen  members  of  the  commission  and  twelve  lawyers 
who  appeared  before  it,  all  are  now  dead,  although  but  twenty-eight 
years  have  elapsed  since  the  sitting.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  they 
were  men  well  advanced  in  life  at  the  time. 

Who  of  those  now  living  and  were  at  all  familiar  with  national 
politics  in  the  campaign  of  1884,  fail  to  remember  the  noted  allitera- 
tion of  "Rum,  Romanism  and  Rebellion."  It  had  its  effect  on  the 
election  in  the  defeat  of  James  G.  Blaine,  and  Fond  du  Lac  county 
was  one  of  those  that  had  a  shaking  up  in  consequence  of  it.  In  that 
campaign  the  candidates  were  Blaine  and  Logan  against  Cleveland 
and  Hendricks.  Cleveland  had  gained  his  prestige  as  Governor  of 
New  York  from  the  office  of  Sheriff  at  Buft'alo.  Blaine  had  made 
his  world-wide  reputation  as  a  diplomat  and  in  the  halls  of  congress. 
The  campaign  was  a  lively  one  and  it  seemed  to  be  the  general  belief 
that  Blaine  and  Logan  were  sure  of  election.  Near  the  close  of  the 
campaign,  and  almost  at  the  eve  of  election,  a  large  republican  meet- 
ing was  held  in  New  York  city,  at  which  an  old  minister  named 
Burchard,  was  one  of  the  principal  speakers.  Among  other  bitter 
things  said  by  him  in  this  speech,  was  the  above  alliteration  of  "Rum, 
Romanism  and  Rebellion."  declaring  these  elements  to  be  the  founda- 
tion and  strength  of  the  democratic  party.  No  man  of  the  time  had 
a  stronger  hold  upon  intelligent  Irishmen  than  James  G.  Blaine, 
and  this  coupling  of  Romanism,  meaning  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
with  rum  and  rebellion,  by  a  prominent  speaker  and  at  a  large  meet- 
ing in  the  interests  of  Blaine  and  the  republican  party,  produced  a 
most  profound  sensation.  Thousands  upon  thousands  of  Irishmen, 
who  had  intended  to  vote  for  Blaine,  threw  away  their  tickets  and 
became  his  active  opponents.  A  strong  effort  was  made  to  head  off  the 
mischief,  but  it  was  too  late.  Burchard  himself  denied  evil  intent, 
but  it  was  ineffectual.  The  mischief  had  been  done  and  there  was 
no  help  for  it.  In  Fond  du  Lac  county,  as  in  New  York  and  other 
parts  of  the  United  States,  it  was  looked  upon  as  the  utterance  of  one 
foolish  old'  man,  voted  for  Blaine  and  have  since  been  loyal  to  the 
republican  party.  As  a  prominent  Fond  du  Lac  democrat  expressed 
it,  Blaine  had  Cleveland  beaten  to  a  finish,  but  at  the  last  minute  a 
foolish  old  preacher  defeated  him.  The  result  of  the  presidential 
election  depended  upon  New  York,  and  it  will  be  remembered  that 
the  official  canvass  gave  the  state  to  Cleveland  by  only  1,200.  It  was 
estimated  by  prominent  politicians  that  but  for  the  Burchard  episode, 
Blaine  would  have  carried  the  state  by  at  least  40,000. 

A  remarkable  feature  of  this  case  was  developed  afterwards, 
when  it  was  found  that  a  son  played  this  trick  upon  his  foolish  old 
father.  This  son  was  a  prominent  democrat  and  connected  with  a 
band  of  New  York  schemers.  He  it  was  who  prompted  his  father  to 
the  use  of  the  obnoxious  language.  Every  northern  state  suffered 
more  or  less  on  the  Blaine  side  of  the  political  ledger,  but  in  New 
York  the  great  mischief  was  done,  as  it  placed  the  republicans  in  the 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  101 

minority  column  and  defeated  Blaine  and  Logan.  In  Fond  du  Lac, 
no  candidate  for  the  presidency  ever  had  a  more  enthusiastic  follow- 
ing than  James  G.  Blaine  had  in  that  great  campaign  of  1884. 

Coming  of  Salvation  Army. 

In  1885,  with  their  voices  and  a  big  bass  drum  for  music,  the 
Salvation  Arm}'  first  appeared  on  the  streets  of  Fond  du  Lac.  The 
movement  was  in  charge  of  two  Swedish  women  from  jMinneapolis, 
whose  personality  as  well  as  work  was  most  attractive,  and  these 
with  the  novelty  of  the  work,  drew  crowds  to  the  meetings.  Their 
method  of  work  took  them  out  to  street  corners  for  a  short  prayer 
and  exhortation  service,  and  thence  to  their  hall  for  a  preaching  and 
general  service.  Unfortunately,  for  the  success  of  the  meetings,  the 
Minneapolis  women  became  homesick  and  others  were  sent  to  lead 
from  time  to  time,  some  of  them  quite  noted  people  in  the  ranks  of  the 
army,  but  the}^  could  not  succeed  and  the  arm}-  struggled  along  until 
1894,  when  its  efforts  were  abandoned  here.  Hall  rent,  fuel,  lights  and 
other  local  bills  had  to  be  met  from  the  collections  and  they  finally 
became  largely  insufficient,  and  the  Salvation  Army  ceased  its  work 
in  Fond  du  Lac.  Their  charity  boxes  may  be  seen  in  most  business 
places  and  the  collections  in  this  way  are  understood  to  be  largely 
in  excess  of  those  received  here  before.  These  boxes  appeal  to  the 
generosity  of  the  people  in  places  and  at  times  that  small  change  is  at 
hand,  and  an  empty  charity  box  is  not  often  seen.  No  one  questions 
the  sincerity  of  the  Salvation  Army  people  or  have  serious  doubts 
of  the  good  work  they  do  among  the  poor  and  in  the  slums  of  the 
large  cities.  They  do  not  make  the  noise  and  stir  they  once  did,  but 
who  will  say  their  work  is  not  as  efficient. 


Frost  Every  Month  in  the  Year. 

Old  timers  who  cultivate  the  soil,  have  not  forgotten  the  year 
that  there  was  a  frost  every  month.  It  was  i860,  but  there  have 
been  years  besides  this  that  came  very  near  the  same  result.  In 
i860,  however,  there  was  a  frost  every  month  severe  enough  for  the 
people  to  know  it.  The  lightest  was  the  frost  in  August,  but  the 
work  of  that  one  could  be  seen  on  the  leaves  of  tomatoes  and  beans. 
In  June  and  July  those  who  had  gardens  suffered  unless  they  covered 
their  vegetation.  Farmers  suffered  severely.  The  writer  had  a  nice 
garden  in  June,  but  not  much  in  September.  It  was  the  year  of 
killing  frosts  every  month. 


Known  as  the  Big  Fountain. 

The  Big  Fountain,  so  long  the  pride  of  the  people  of  Sixth  and 
Marr  streets.  It  threw  nearly  a  full  four  inch  stream  of  as  clear  water 
as  ever  came  out  of  the  earth.  But  after  a  few  years  it  began  to  fail 
and  in  one  year  the  stream  decreased  nearly  one-half.  In  1872  the 
stream  was  lowered  three  feet,  and  a  few  years  later  two  feet  more, 
and  about  1890  it  ceased  to  flow  altogether  and  was  filled.  Not  a 
drop  of  water  has  come  from  it  since. 


102  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

One  of  the  Railroad  Engineers. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  the  locomotive  engineers  on  the  north  end 
of  the  Northwestern  road,  and  who  stuck  to  the  throttle  until  age 
and  infirmity  compelled  him  to  retire,  was  L.  S.  Smith.  He  began 
the  work  when  the  track  was  completed  to  Minnesota  Junction,  and 
was  on  duty  nearly  thirty-five  years.  When  the  Wisconsin  Division 
was  the  through  line  to  Chicago,  for  nearly  thirty  years  Mr.  Smith 
made  the  run  every  day  between  Janesville  and  Green  Bay,  and  used 
to  say  he  had  made  the  personal  acquaintance  of  every  hill  and 
hollow,  every  stone,  tree  and  stump  between  those  points.  In  all 
this  time  he  never  had  an  accident  to  cause  loss  of  life.  It  is  well 
remembered  by  those  familiar  with  the  locality,  that  the  grade  north 
of  the  Sheboygan  Junction  was  very  narrow  and  at  one  place  the 
weeds  and  high  grass  came  to  within  two  or  three  feet  of  the  rails. 
One  beautiful  morning  in  the  summer  of  1875,  coming  over  from 
Oshkosh  on  the  fireman's  side  of  the  engine,  something  white  was 
noticed  to  flash  and  Smith  stopped  and  backed  the  train  to  find  a 
dead  woman  horribly  mangled.  The  body  was  placed  in  the  baggage 
car  and  brought  up  town  to  the  depot,  where  an  inquest  was.  held 
aad  it  was  found  from  relatives  of  the  woman  that  it  was  suicide. 
She  had  hidden  in  the  high  grass  and  when  the  engine  wheels  were 
nearest,  threw  herself  under  them.  This  was  the  only  person  Smith's 
engine  ever  killed,  and  it  worried  him  greatly. 

One  morning  as  he  approached  Minnesota  Junction,  he  found 
a  St.  Paul  freight  train  across  the  track  and  as  his  brakes  failed  to 
hold  he  ran  into  it  and  made  something  of  a  wreck.  Two  days  after, 
being  summoned  before  the  superintendent,  he  was  asked  if  the 
result  would  have  been  the  same  if  .it  had  been  a  passenger  train 
Well,  not  exactly,  said  Smith.  If  it  had  been  a  passenger  train.  I 
should  have  shouldered  my  lantern  and  left  for  the  woods  and  you 
would  not  have  seen  me  here  today.  This  reply  so  amused  the 
superintendent  that  Smith  got  out  of  the  trouble  very  easy. 

Lucien  S.  Smith  was  a  very  efficient  and  faithful  employe  of  the 
Northwestern  road,  and  Fond  du  Lac  frequenters  of  the  station  were 
lost  when  he  ceased  his  work  and  his  face  was  seen  there  no  more. 
When  he  retired  he  bought  a  farm  near  Milton  Junction,  where  he 
died  a  few  years  ago.  He  possessed  a  considerable  degree  of  literary 
ability  and  wrote  a  number  of  poems  of  much  merit  while  standing 
on  his  engine  at  the  throttle. 


The  Old  Home  of  Mrs.  Arnold. 

This  old  ])lace  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Marr  and  Fourth 
streets,  so  familiar  to  all  old  time  residents  of  h^ond  du  Lac  for  more 
than  half  a  century,  of  late  the  property  of  Geo.  W.  Denniston,  a 
pioneer  of  the  county,  has  lately  dropped  from  sight  on  its  old  time 
location,  by  being  turned  and  moved  to  the  north  end  of  the  lot.  The 
familiar  house  will  be  missed  by  old  residents. 


STREET  RAILWAY  AND  LIGHTING 


The  Ups  and   Downs  of  Street  Railroads   in  Fond   du  Lac.      Early 

Efforts     and     Present     Success.       Electric 

Lighting   Has  Troubles. 


In  1888  an  Indiana  man,  Mr.  J.  P.  Burkholder,  appeared  in  Fond 
du  Lac  and  proposed  to  put  down  a  first-class  street  railway  line.  He 
secured  a  franchise  and  laid  a  line  with  light  tee  rail,  from  the  landing 
to  the  old  fair  ground  on  upper  Main  street,  and  on  Fourth  street  to 
near  the  gates  of  the  Kite  park  fair  grounds.  At  the  terminus  of  the 
latter  line  was  the  barn  or  power  house,  the  power  consisting  of  thirty 
Missouri  rat  mules.  There  was  a  long  controversy  about  the  rail  used, 
but  the  tee  rail  got  there  and  ruined  the  block  pavement  and  many 
wagons  and  carriages.  The  quickest  succession  of  the  little  bob-tail 
cars  during  each  day  was  about  every  half  hour.  The  line  was  not 
a  success  and  i\^r.  Burkholder  disappeared  near  the  end  of  the  first 
year.  An  eccentric  Hollander  here  at  this  time,  named  Count  Louis 
Nepeiu,  bought  up  the  indebtedness  to  the  amount  of  $18,000,  and 
took  possession.  At  the  end  of  a  few  months  he  retired  with  an  old 
white  horse  and  big  sorrel  dog  to  show  for  his  money.  W.  G.  DeCelle 
next  appeared  in  control  of  the  street  car  franchise,  but  his  means 
were  not  sufficient  to  equip  the  road  as  he  had  started  out  to  do,  nor 
could  he  raise  money  on  his  bonds.  Mr.  DeCelle  had  put  electricity 
into  use  in  place  of  mules  and  purchased  new  cars  and  was  heavily 
in  debt,  as  he  had  also  acquired  two  electric  lighting  plants.  It  had 
become  a  load  of  debt  too  heavy  for  Mr.  DeCelle  and  Elihu  Colman 
signed  his  paper,  but  finding  it  unprofitable,  organized  a  company 
under  the  name  of  Fond  du  Lac  Light  and  Power  Company,  which 
took  possession.  The  line  did  not  pay  and  the  compnay  became  the 
Fond  du  Lac  Electric  Company,  which  continued  the  lighting  plant 
but  took  up  the  railway  line  and  sold  the  rails  for  old  iron.  The  city 
was  now  without  street  cars  and  the  outlook  was  not  very  encourag- 
ing. But  now  came  H.  F.  Whitcomb,  who  believed  a  street  car  line 
properly  equipped  and  backed  with  sufficient  capital,  could  be  made 
to  pay  well,  and  through  his  influence  the  present  Fond  du  Lac  Street 
Railway  and  Light  Company  was  organized.  In  1899  the  road  was 
built  and  equipped  in  splendid  shape  and  the  following  year  extended 
to  North  Fond  du  Lac  and  to  Lakeside  Park.  The  power  house  was 
greatly  enlarged  and  an  ample  supply  of  the  best  machinery  that 
money  could  buy,  was  installed.  And  so  it  is  that  today  we  have 
one  of  the  best  street  railways  in  the  state.  In  1903  the  Fond  du  Lac 
and  Oshkosh  line,  known  as  the  interurban,  was  built,  and  we  now 
have  a  service  every  hour  over  it.  llie  same  year  the  Eastern  Wis- 
consin Railway  and  Light  Company  was  organized  to  construct  a 
line   on    the    east    shore   of   the    lake.      The    late    death    of    Frank    B. 


104  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Hoskins,  its  president,  may  to  some  extent  retard  the  work,  but  the 
time  is  not  distant  that  its  plans  will  be  carried  out. 

Such  have  been  the  ups  and  downs  of  street  railroads  in  Fond  du 
Lac.  At  the  beginning  electricity  for  street  car  propulsion  can 
hardly  be  said  to  have  been  in  use  anywhere,  and  the  large  cities 
also  had  the  small  Missouri  mules.  Mr.  DeCelle's  use  of  electricity 
was  about  as  early  as  any.  Since  then  the  machinery  for  such  use 
has  been  vastly  improved.  All  citizens  will  rejoice  that  there  was  a 
man  like  H.  F.  Whitcomb,  having  faith  in  Fond  du  Lac  and  ready 
to  come  to  the  front  with  money  and  influence. 

Electric  Lighting. 

Aurora,  111.,  was  the  first  and  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.,  second  in  the 
entire  west  to  adopt  electric  lighting.  It  was  mainly  through  the- 
efforts  of  Lafayette  Bond,  then  a  member  of  the  common  council, 
that  the  poor  man's  light,  as  he  termed  it,  was  adopted  by  the  city. 
Five  lighting  towers  were  erected  on  Main  street  in  front  of  court 
house,  on  First,  Division,  Forest  and  Arndt  streets,  but  were  not 
fully  completed  in  September,  1882,  when  the  county  fair  was  held 
and  electric  lights  first  appeared  here.  The  towers  were  not  com- 
pleted until  1883  and  the  lamp  trimmer  had  to  climb.  In  1886  the 
wind  of  a  thunder  storm  played  havoc  v/ith  the  towers,  two  being 
wrecked  and  all  injured  seriously,  but  they  were  rebuilt  at  a  less 
height.  For  a  long  time  the  light  was  quite  unsatisfactory.  Then 
came  the  masts,  holding  one  light  each,  and  then  suspended  lamps. 
To  make  it  effective  here,  was  a  struggle.  For  several  years  one 
quick  motion  engine  was  all  the  power  the  plant  had  to  run  its 
dynamos,  and  so  it  was  not  until  the  present  ownership  that  there 
was  ample  power  for  even  lighting  purposes.  Since  the  use  of 
electric  motors  has  become  so  general  immense  power  is  needed. 
Four  quick  motion  engines  and  four  large  engines,  with  twelve 
dynamos,  ranging  from  two  to  ten  feet  diameter  to  generate  the 
electricity  for  railway,  lighting  and  general  purposes.  W.  G.  DeCelle 
in  1 891,  tried  to  improve  the  plant  but  without  much  success.  Of 
late  years  there  has  been  little  complaint  of  the  quality  of  the  light, 
the  only  trouble  seeming  to  be  the  cost. 


They   Were   Noisy  Preachers. 

In  1857,  there  was  a  Methodist  Church  on  Arndt  street,  near 
Brooke,  and  for  a  time  Rev.  Mr.  Robbins  was  the  pastor.  Not  far 
from  the  same  time  Rev.  Mr.  Hollister  was  pastor  of  the  up  town 
church,  then  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Marr  and  Third  streets.  It 
is  well  remembered  by  old  settlers,  that  these  men  were  the  noisiest 
preachers  Fond  du  Lac  ever  had.  It  was  not  uncommon  to  hear  them 
a  couple  of  blocks,  and  Mr.  Hollister's  family  prayers  could  be  heard 
nearly  as  far.  Their  physicians  tried  to  stop  the  use  of  so  much 
force,  but  they  continued  it  and  both  died  prematurely.  These  noisy 
preachers  are  not  common  now,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  the  people  would 
tolerate  them. 


GREAT  WORK  OF  BISHOP  GRAFTON 


St.  Paul's  Cathedral  One  of  the  Finest  in  the  Country.     Grafton  Hall 

Has  No  Superior.     The  Great  Work  Done  in 

Sixteen  Years. 


In  1872,  the  Episcopal  Diocese  of  Fond  du  Lac  was  taken  from 
the  diocese  of  Wisconsin,  now  Milwaukee,  and  at  the  preliminary 
council  in  1873,  Bishop  Welles  presiding,  Rev.  Leighton  Coleman, 
of  Toledo,  Ohio,  now  Bishop  of  Delaware,  was  elected  for  the  first 
Bishop  of  Fond  du  Lac.  He  came  here  and  looked  over  the  field 
and  believing  the  work  too  much  for  his  strength,  declined.  Subse- 
quently Rev.  Dr.  Shipman,  of  New  York,  was  elected  and  declined. 
At  the  third  council.  Rev.  J.  H.  Hobart  Brown  was  chosen.  After 
serving  twelve  years,  the  lamented  Bishop  Brown  died  May  2,  1888, 
and  Rev.  C.  C.  Grafton,  of  Boston^  became  his  successor.  He  was 
consecrated  on  St.  Mark's  Day,  April  25,  1889.  Comparatively  few 
people  have  a  proper  conception  of  the  enormous  amount  of  work 
done  by  Bishop  Grafton  in  the  sixteen  years  of  his  presence  as 
Bishop  of  this  diocese.  One  has  but  to  step  over  to  the  location  of 
the  Cathedral  and  Grafton  Hall,  to  see  at  once  that  he  has  not  been 
idle.  When  he  came  to  the  diocese  he  found  an  unfinished  cathedral 
church,  burdened  with  a  heavy  debt.  Besides  this,  St.  Monica  school, 
under  the  management  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Monica,  was  in  need  of 
assistance  and  apparently  plenty  of  work  to  do  in  all  directions. 
Bishop  Grafton  went  at  the  work  with  determination,  and  it  is  only 
needful  now  for  those  having  knowledge  of  the  conditions  sixteen 
years  ago,  to  recall  them  in  comparison  with  those  of  the  present, 
to  appreciate  the  work  he  has  done.  But  the  work  most  appreciated 
by  the  Bishop  himself,  can  be  seen  in  buildings,  as  it  is  in  a  spiritual 
sense  that  he  has  sought  for  improvement  in  the  entire  diocese  and 
has  achieved  it.  He  has  expended  no  less  than  $150,000  in  the  im- 
provement of  churches  and  church  property  in  tjie  diocese  outside  of 
Fond  du  Lac.  He  built  a  church  at  North  Fond  du  Lac  at  a  cost  of 
$4,000,  together  with  other  expenditures.  But  let  us  look  at  Grafton 
Hall.  The  home  of  the  Bishop,  on  Division  street,  one  of  the  finest 
in  the  city,  together  with  the  Mother  House  of  the  Sisters  of  the 
Holy  Nativity,  immediately  north  of  it,  has  already  become  suffi- 
ciently noted  to  attract  strangers  in  the  city  to  view  it.  The  Mother 
House,  built  in  this  year  of  1905,  will  cost  $60,000.  It  is  perfect  in 
every  detail.  The  former  rectory  on  Bannister  street,  was  overhauled 
for  dormitories  and  other  purposes  of  a  choir  school,  at  a  cost  of 
$12,000,  is  perfect  in  every  detail.  The  Cathedral  rectory,  now  occu- 
pied by  Bishop  Weller,  represents  a  cost  of  $5,000.  An  expenditure 
of  $11,000  for  land  for  Grafton  Hall  and  $4,000  for  the  Cathedral, 
the  cost  of  retaining  wall  along  the  river,  the  garth  wall,  sidewalks, 
etc.,  all  represent  large  expenditures  of  money. 


106  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

St.  Monica  school  was  started  by  the  Sisters  of  St.  Monica  and 
under  direction  of  Bishop  Brown.  Mother  Caroline  Delano  was  in 
charge.  The  school  was  in  a  large  wood  building  then  on  the  site 
of  the  present  Grafton  Hall,  but  a  part  of  it  is  now  the  Waukesha 
Hotel,  corner  of  Forest  Avenue  and  Sophia  street.  The  only  Sister 
of  St.  Monica  remaining  here  is  Sister  Anna  Hobart,  widow  of 
Bishop  Brown,  in  charge  of  the  altars,  and  custodian  of  the  vestments 
and  silver  in  the  Cathedral.  Bishop  Grafton  came  in  1889.  The 
people  had  much  sympathy  for  St.  Monica  School  and  its  weakness 
being  wholly  of  a  financial  character,  talk  for  reorganization  soon 
began  in  earnest.     At  a  full  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees  early  in 

1893,  it  was  determined  to  reorganize  the  school  and  to  name  it 
Grafton  Hall.  The  old  building  was  quite  unsatisfactory  and  a  new 
one  was  decided  upon.  In  1895  the  new  structure  was  begun  and 
in  1897  the  north  half  of  it,  together  with  power  house,  heating  and 
electric  light  plants,  went  into  use.  But  the  work  did  not  stop  here, 
and  two  years  later,  1900,  the  present  magnificent  structure  was 
fully  occupied  by  the  school.  The  cost  of  it  in  round  numbers  was 
$50,000,   and  the   equipment   and   furnishing   cost   $20,000   more.      In 

1894,  when  St.  Monica  School  was  formally  transferred  to  Grafton 
Hall,  Rev.  B.  T.  Rogers  was  placed  in  charge  and  has  been  there 
ever  since  and  has  made  it  a  school  worthy  of  the  beautiful  building 
and  surroundings ;  and  an  honor  to  the  diocese  and  to  the  state.  It 
has  been  the  desire  of  the  Bishop,  of  Warden  Rogers  and  the  board 
of  trustees,  to  make  this  school  for  young  ladies  the  equal  of  any  like 
institution  in  this  country,  and  they  have  succeeded.  Those  in  con- 
trol have  had  to  face  a  great  many  difficulties,  but  they  seem  to  have 
triumphed  over  all  of  them,  and  today  the  city  of  Fond  du  Lac  and 
the  diocese  are  able  to  boast  of  one  of  the  best  schools  with  the 
handsomest  buildings  and  finest  equipments  in  the  entire  northwest. 

One  of  the  early  achievements  of  Bishop  Grafton  and  showing 
his  foresight,  was  the  Parish  House,  at  the  Cathedral.  This  was  built 
in  1892  at  a  cost  of  $15,000,  and  it  has  been  remarkably  useful  alike 
to  the  Cathedral  parish  and  to  the  diocese.  Its  uses  are  numerous 
and  in  many  directions.  It  may  now  be  wondered  how  it  would 
have  been  possible  to  get  along  without  it. 

The  structure  which  will  be  remembered  as  the  old  parish  school 
house,  in  which  church  services  were  held  after  the  burning  of  the 
old  Cathedral,  was  remodeled  in  1899  at  a  cost  of  $10,000,  and  named 
St.  Andrew's  Hall.  It  is  a  most  useful  place,  especially  for  the 
clergy  of  the  diocese  who  may  be  here  temporarily.  In  the  old  time 
it  was  an  eye  sore — now  it  is  a  handsome  building  and  a  useful  one. 
The  choir  school  building  at  Follett  and  Bannister  streets,  was  re- 
modeled at  a  cost  of  $12,000. 

When  Bishop  Brown  died,  the  Cathedral  was  not  completed. 
Some  of  the  furnishings  were  but  temporary.  After  making  visita- 
tions and  posting  himself  more  thoroughly  in  the  affairs  of  his 
diocese.  Bishop  Grafton  began  to  look  more  closely  to  work  on  the 
Cathedral.  First  of  all  the  porch  was  to  be  built  and  the  tower 
completed.      The    chancel     was    an     architectural     defect     and     was 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  ,  ]  07 

changed,  the  cloister  was  built  between  the  robing  rooms  and  St, 
Andrew's  Hall,  the  garth  wall  was  constructed,  new  sidewalks  put 
down  and  a  great  deal  of  other  work  done.  As  time  went  on  new 
furnishings  appeared,  including  the  finest  font  and  canopy  in  this 
country,  carvings  of  St.  Paul  and  the  twelve  apostles,  pulpit  in  stone, 
one  of  the  finest  polished  brass  lecturns  made,  mounted  on  a  Scotch 
granite  column  and  supported  by  stone  base,  a  fine  rood  screen,  the 
furnishings  of  the  two  chapels  adjoining  the  main  portion  of  the 
church,  and  a  great  deal  more  that  cannot  be  here  mentioned  in  detail. 
The  reredos  at  the  altar  in  St.  Augustine  chapel  is  hardly  surpassed 
in  this  country.     Among  the  memorials  are : 

White  Marble  Altar  in  the  chancel,  presented  by  Mrs.  M.  H. 
Galloway  in  memory  of  her  husband,  Edwin  H.   Galloway. 

Chalice  and  Paten,  made  of  material  in  the  pastoral  staff  and  old 
family  plate  of  Bishop  Brown,  presented  by  Mrs.  Ijrown  in  memory 
of  her  husband. 

Sanctuary  Rail  in  Bedford  stone,  presented  by  ]\lrs.  H.  K. 
Laughlin  in  memory  of  her  daughter. 

Choir  Screen  in  Bedford  stone,  presented  by  Mrs.  W.  W.  Clark 
in  memory  of  her  parents. 

West  granite  column  in  chancel,  by  Racine  College  in  memory 
of  Rev.  Dr.  DeKoven. 

East  granite  column  in  chancel,  by  Air.  E.  A.  Carey  in  memory 
of  his  wife,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Carey. 

Font,  presented  by  C.  A.  Galloway  in  memory  of  his  wife,  Mrs. 
Mary   Galloway. 

Five  chancel  windows,  by  Mrs.  H.  H.  Rose,  in  memory  of  her 
father,  Mr.  A.  G.  Ruggles. 

Three  windows  at  south  end  of  the  nave,  presented  by  Mr.  B. 
Wild,  Sr.     Window  at  west  entrance  in  memor}-  of  Mrs.  B.  Wild,  Sr. 

Porch  at  main  entrance  of  Cathedral,  erected  through  the  eft'orts 
of  Mrs.  Mary  Waterbury  to  the  memory  of  Bishop  Brown. 

St.  Augustine  Chapel,  equipped  by  Mrs.  Mary  Waterbury  in 
memory  of  the  Brown  family,  including  the  father  and  mother  of  the 
Bishop. 

Window  presented  by  Mr.  Ed.  Ewen,  to  the  memory  of  his 
father  and  mother. 

Two  windows  presented  by  Mrs.  Laughlin,  to  the  memory  of  her 
husband,  H.  K.  Laughlin. 

Two  windows  presented  by  Mrs.  Wiley,  to  the  memory  of  her 
parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Henning,  and  a  sister. 

Window  presented  by  Mr.  Geo.  P.  Lee,  to  the  memory  of  a 
daughter,  Mrs.  Jenny  Coleman. 

Altar  in  St.  Ambrose  Chapel,  presented  by  Rev.  Mr.  Batterson, 
to  the  memory  of  Bishop  Knight,  of  the  diocese  of  Milwaukee. 

In  the  mortuary  chapel  has  been  placed  a  beautiful  trefoil 
window  to  the  memory  of  James  Ewen  McCall,  son  of  Capt.  J.  V. 
McCall,  killed  in  an  accident  at  Milwaukee  at  the  age  of  seven  years. 


108  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

In  the  same  chapel  is  a  memorial  tablet  from  historical  \Vestminster 
Abbey. 

Besides  these  memorials  there  have  been  many  presentations  to 
Bishop  Grafton  and  gifts  by  the  Bishop  to  the  Cathedral  for  beauti- 
fying- the  place  and  making  the  services  more  imposing.  Among 
these  are  the  Bishop's  Chair,  windows  in  the  nave  representing 
scenes  in  the  life  of  St.  Paul,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  Lecturns 
made ;  the  Rood  Screen  ;  the  grand  new  organ  and  motor ;  Litany 
Desk;  Pulpit  in  Bedford  stone,  from  friends  in  the  Church  of  the 
Advent,  Boston;  Brass  Lecturn  in  St.  Ambrose  Chapel,  from  the 
vestry  of  St.  Ann's  Church,  Brooklyn,  through  Mrs.  Waterbury ; 
Bust  of  Bishop  Kemper,  from  R.  Powrie ;  Statue  of  St.  Margaret 
and  the  Dragon,  or  Victory  of  the  Cross  over  the  Dragon,  one  of  the 
grandest  pieces  of  marble  statuary  in  this  country,  presented  by  Miss 
Grant,  of  London,  the  artist;  Tubular  Bells  in  the  tower,  from  Mr. 
Clapp,  of  Providence,  R.  L ;  Paintings  in  chancels,  by  Lawrence  Kent 
and  Miss  Upjohn,  on  the  frieze;  white  marble  lining  of  chancel. 

St.  Paul's  Church,  Fond  du  Lac,  was  designated  as  the  Cathedral 
church  soon  after  the  coming  of  Bishop  Brown,  and  since  then  there 
have  been  a  number  of  noted  events  connected  with  it.  On  the  cold 
morning  of  St.  Paul's  Day,  January  25,  1883,  the  Cathedral  was 
burned,  and  it  was  on  fire  again  in  1895,  but  escaped  serious  injury. 
The  consecration  of  Bishop  Grafton  on  St.  Mark's  Day,  March  25, 
i88q,  and  the  consecration  of  Bishop  Coadjutor  Weller,  on  November 
8,  1900.  The  funeral  of  Bishop  Brown  took  place  from  the  Cathedral 
on  I\Iay  4,  1888.  The  erection  of  the  large  building  on  Amory  street, 
north  of  the  Bishop's  house,  and  its  consecration  to  the  use  of  the 
Sisters  of  the  Holy  Nativity  as  the  Mother  House,  on  September  8, 
1905,  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  marked  event  in  the  history  of  the 
Cathedral  and  of  the  diocese  of  Fond  du  Lac  as  well. 

There  are  few  citizens  wdio  can  fully  realize  the  significance  of 
the  coming  to  Fond  du  Lac  of  Bishop  Grafton.  In  him  we  have  not 
only  an  estimable  and  Godly  man,  of  eminent  social  qualities,  but  one 
of  remarkable  activity  and  generosity  in  promoting  the  growth  of 
the  city.  The  amount  of  money  he  has  brought  here  in  various  ways 
can  never  be  known,  but  it  is  estimated  to  exceed  $600,000,  and  a 
large  proportion  of  it  has  been  expended  in  the  employment  of  labor. 
The  Cathedral  debt  of  $16,000  is  not  only  wiped  out  but  has  an  en- 
dowment that  provides  for  the  diocesan  assessment.  Missions  and 
weak  churches  throughout  the  diocese  have  been  aided  to  an  amount 
that  would  be  surprising  to  most  people  if  it  could  be  known.  This 
is  why  it  may  be  truthfully  said  that  the  full  significance  of  Bishop 
Grafton's  coming  to  Fond  du  Lac,  can  never  be  known. 


Bakery  Bread  in  Fond  du  Lac. 

It  was  not  until  some  time  after  Mr.  !>.  Wild  went  into  business 
here  and  began  making  the  round  cottage  loaves,  that  bakery  bread 
secured  much  patronage.  People  generally  made  their  own  bread, 
but  the  cottage  loaves  were  so  near  like  home  made  bread  that 
hundreds  of  families  gave  up  home  baking. 


PIONEER  FARMERS  AND  SETTLERS 


Some  of  the  People  Who  Came  to  This  County  Early  and  Helped 
to  Develop  It.     List  of  Names. 


Among  the  most  remarkable  men  who  entered  upon  this  goodly 
land  in  the  pioneer  days  were  the  seekers  for  homes — the  men  who 
did  not  fear  to  enter  upon  the  work  of  developing  farms.  The  fame 
of  the  country  had  gone  back  east  and  honest  work  only  was  needed 
to  enable  them  to  realize  their  expectations.  The  landscape  was  as 
attractive  as  had  ever  been  seen  by  man  and  the  soil  most  productive. 
Beautifid  surroundings  and  abundant  harvests  for  the  industrious 
seemed  to  be  sure.  And  so  they  came  here,  selected  their  farms  and 
went  at  the  work  of  developing  them,  with  the  result  as  we  see  it 
today.  As  a  rule  the  owners  were  industrious,  successful  and  happy, 
and  they  were  able  to  turn  over  to  their  successors  as  fine  an  agricul- 
tural region  as  there  is  in  the  state.  While  it  is  true  that  this  county 
possessed  great  natural  advantages,  it  is  also  true  that  its  attractive- 
ness is  in  a  very  large  measure  due  to  the  good  judgment  and  hard 
work  of  the  early  owners.  It  was  their  good  fortune  that  they  en- 
tered upon  a  section  of  country  possessed  of  a  good  soil  and  healthy 
climate,  hence  healthfulness  and  general  prosperity. 

The  kindness  and  generosity  of  these  people  was  proverbial.  Re- 
fusal of  neighborly  courtesies  was  almost  unknown  and  people  over- 
taken by  night  or  storm,  were  never  denied  shelter  as  long  as  there 
was  room  inside  the  house.  The  selfish  and  exclusive  spirit,  so  often 
met  today,  was  very  seldom  found.  If  a  settler  killed  an  animal  for 
food,  it  was  distributed  in  pieces  among  the  neighbors  and  kindness 
was  the  rule  everywhere.  If  the  settler  had  a  heavy  job  of  work  in 
the  development  of  his  property  and  needed  the  assistance  of  his 
neighbors,  he  was  sure  to  get  it,  though  some  of  those  neighbors 
came  several  miles  on  foot.  Mr.  John  Folts.  a  well  known  pioneer 
of  the  town  of  Byron,  in  1844  had  assistance  come  ten  miles  to  help 
roll  up  the  logs  of  a  log  house  he  was  building.  How  many  men 
could  be  obtained  from  half  the  distance  now  to  assist  in  such  work 
as  an  act  of  kindness  only  and  without  pay?  Similar  acts  were  by  no 
means  rare  in  Fond  du  Lac  county  at  that  time.  A  poor  widow  in 
the  town  of  Forest,  Mrs.  Sanford,  whose  husband  died  and  left  her 
with  three  children,  in  1848,  had  her  crop  harvested  and  cared  for  by 
her  neighbors.  That  was  pioneer  Christianity.  How  seldom  it  is 
found  in  our  day. 

During  the  eight  years,  from  1828  to  1836,  there  was  a  military 
post  at  Fort  Howard  and  Gen.  Ellis,  Capt.  Follett  and  a  few  citizens 
were  there  and  Gen.  Ellis  started  the  Green  Bay  Intelligencer,  the 
first  Wisconsin  newspaper.  By  1836  the  timber  of  the  Fox  and  Wolf 
river  country,  the  peninsula  of  Door  and  Kewaunee  counties  and  the 


110  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Green  Ba}'  region,  were  becoming  rapidly  known  and  the  magnificent 
agricultural  lands  to  the  south  were  beginning  to  be  entered  and 
farms  opened.  The  years  1840  to  1848  brought  a  vast  number  of 
people  from  the  east,  in  pursuit  of  homes  and  whose  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  this  region.  Until  1851  the  railroads  could  not  be  used,  not 
being  completed,  and  water  transportation  to  Wisconsin  was  com- 
pulsory. Every  respectable  vessel  on  the  lakes,  steam  or  sail,  came 
loaded  down  during  these  years,  with  emigrants  and  their  belongings. 
Most  of  these  sought  a  landing  at  Sheboygan,  some  at  jMilwaukee 
and  Green  Bay,  a  few  at  Racine  and  Kenosha,  then  known  as  South- 
port.  The  stream  of  humanity  landing  at  Sheboygan  and  Green  Bay 
spread  over  the  timber  lands  reaching  from  the  lake  and  bay  shores 
to  the  imsurpassed  prairie  and  openings  of  Rosendale,  Ripon  and 
Green  Lake,  into  Marquette  county.  Those  who  came  first,  while 
they  doubtless  got  their  choice  of  homes,  assuredly  did  not  get  the 
best,  as  later  comers,  many  of  them,  got  as  nice  and  valuable  farms 
as  any  who  preceded  them.  There  was  an  occasional  piece  of  land 
that  was  "a  little  ofif  color,"  as  the  ladies  sometimes  say  of  dress 
goods,  but  such  neglected  land,  oftener  than  otherwise,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  ingenious  and  expert  farmer  and  was  made  to  "blossom 
as  the  rose"  and  in  after  years  to  be  as  valuable  as  those  with  pros- 
pects more  promising  at  the  start.  A  section  of  country  with  a  more 
productive  soil  cannot  be  found  and  barring  occasional  vicissitudes 
of  weather,  common  to  all  agricultural  regions,  has  and  will  abun- 
dantly reward  the  industrious  and  intelligent  farmer. 

Wheat  in  Ohio,  corn  in  Iowa,  cotton  in  Mississippi,  peanuts  in 
Tennessee  and  celery  in  Michigan,  are  specialties  in  the  regions 
named,  but  for  dairying,  stock  growing  and  average  all  round 
agriculture,  Wisconsin  is  among  the  states  at  the  head  of  the  list, 
and  the  time  is  coming  and  it  is  not  far  distant,  when  Wisconsin  will 
lead  the  world  in  dairying.  The  full  figures  pertaining  to  these  in- 
terests it  is  not  necessary  to  reproduce  here.  They  will  be  found  in 
detail  in  the  annual  report  of  the  dairy  and  food  commissioner,  and 
will  surprise  many  who  examine  them  for  the  first  time.  The  full 
figures  with  reference  to  other  products  of  the  farm,  may  be  found 
in  the  report  of  Prof.  Henry,  of  the  agricultural  department  of  our 
state  university,  and  should  be  studied  by  every  intelligent  farmer. 
The  state  provides  these  reports  at  heavy  cost,  for  the  benefit  of  its 
citizens,  and  they  ought  not  to  neglect  them.  All  now  realize  the 
fact  that  the  times  demand  intelligent,  educated  farmers  rather  than 
plodders.  To  this  end  the  state  provides  university  education  to  all 
who  will  avail  themselves  of  it.  This  is  what  the  present  seeks,  what 
the  future  demands.  The  light  was  not  as  bright  as  this  for  the 
pioneer  who  preceded  us  and  settled  this  region  of  country.  The 
prospect  was  often  dark,  sometimes  very  dark,  but  they  were  intelli- 
gent men  and  how  gloriously  they  worked  out  their  destiny! 

But  it  was  not  alone  the  agricultural  region  that  so  attracted 
emigration  to  Wisconsin  from  1836  onward  into  the  century  for  ten 
or  twelve  years,  but  our  splendid  pine  and  hardwood  timber  brought 
the  lumberman  from  even  as  far  east  as  Maine  and  as  early  as  1838 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  HI 

at  least  two  mills  were  cutting  lumber  on  the  bay  shore,  and  one  in 
1840,  built  by  Elisha  and  John  Beeson,  brothers  of  the  late  Edward 
Beeson.  of  this  city,  while  some  even  more  venturesome,  about  the 
same  dates,  had  penetrated  westward  from  Green  Bay  to  the  Wolf 
river  country,  were  cutting  lumber  and  floating  it  down  in  rafts,  some 
of  which  taken  from  the  river,  was  used  in  Fond  du  Lac.  Such  was 
the  lumber,  dried  in  the  sun,  that  Dr.  Walker  put  into  his  house 
which  he  built  and  occupied,  several  years,  at  the  southeast  corner 
of  Main  and  Fifth  streets,  now  used  for  a  hotel.  The  lumber  industry 
developed  rapidly  and  by  1848,  the  puff  of  steam  could  be  seen  from 
mills  at  almost  every  town.  As  we  approached  the  middle  of  the 
century,  lumber  was  abundant  for  all  purposes  and  at  reasonable 
prices.  In  the  next  ten  years  the  rivers  had  been  vastly  improved 
with  booms,  to  the  end  that  logs  came  down  by  millions  to  be  cut 
into  lumber  and  shingles,  lath,  pickets,  etc.,  and  manufactured  into 
sash,  doors  and  blinds,  to  the  extent  that  it  began  to  be  felt  that  our 
forests  were  being  depleted,  and  sure  enough,  long  before  the  end  of 
the  century,  after  the  railroads  had  taken  the  mills  to  the  logs,  instead 
of  bringing  the  logs  to  the  mills,  our  lumber  industries  practically 
ceased.  Such  was  one  of  the  vicissitudes  of  business  here  in  about 
half  a  century. 

But  the  farmer,  he  who  went  to  work  with  a  will  on  his  land,  dug 
out  a  comfortable  living  and  found  an  anxious  market  for  all  he  had 
to  sell.  They  had  their  contentions,  of  course,  and  he  might  be 
troubled  a  little  sometimes,  to  make  both  ends  meet,  but  in  the  end 
he  triumphed  over  all  obstacles.  Lumber  may  have  been  so  scarce 
and  high  priced  when  he  first  came  that  a  board  shanty  for  his  family 
was  impossible  and  he  had  to  be  content  with  a  hovel  constructed  of 
logs  or  poles,  with  a  trough  roof  and  puncheon  floor,  the  logs 
chinked  with  split  sticks  and  plastered  with  mud  to  make  it  habitable 
in  winter.  One  of  these  early  houses  would  be  a  marvel  to  the 
present  generation,  but  they  served  their  purpose.  The  material  in 
these  houses  was  not  always  of  the  best  and  often  hauled  long  dis- 
tances. Relative  to  the  shanty  of  John  Folts,  in  Byron,  Martin 
Mitchell  says: 

"In  the  summer  of  1844,  Mr.  John  Folts,  with  his  wife  and  four 
children,  removed  from  the  state  of  New  York  to  Byron.  He  set  up 
crotches,  upon  which  he  laid  long  poles,  and  covered  it  over  with 
prairie  grass,  and  having  blankets  at  the  sides,  for  his  domicil,  lived 
until  he  could  build  a  log  house,  obtaining  hands  from  about  ten 
miles  distant  to  help  him  roll  up  the  logs." 

In  the  pioneer  days  of  the  county  and  up  to  about  i860,  compara- 
tively little  attention  was  given  to  dairying.  Some  stock  was  raised 
but  the  attention  of  the  farmers  was  given  largely  to  the  small  grains, 
wheat,  oats,  barley  and  rye.  The  exclusiveness  of  these  crops  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  Ripon  had  six  large  elevators  and  Fond  du 
Lac  had  the  same  number,  and  as  the  railroads  were  built  elevators 
appeared  at  almost  every  station,  while  mills  increased  in  number 
and  capacity  and  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  the  annual  crop  was 
shipped  as  flour,  the  output  of  the  mills  being  larger  than  the  people 


112 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


consumed.  What  a  remarkable  change  in  fifteen  years !  The  crop 
season  without  frost  was  found  to  be  too  short  for  successful  corn 
raising,  but  while  much  is  planted,  mainly  for  home  consumption, 
it  is  not  looked  upon  as  a  profitable  crop. 

During  and  immediately  following  the  war,  farmers  began  to 
realize  the  value  of  this  part  of  the  state  for  dairying  and  stock  rais- 
ing, and  these  have  largely  taken  the  place  of  the  other  crops. 

Below  will  be  found  about  150  names  of  the  oldest  pioneer 
farmer  settlers  of  Fond  du  Lac  county.  Their  names  will  be  familiar 
to  all  old  settlers  and  it  will  be  a  pleasure  to  them  to  have  their 
memory  renewed  and  hundreds  of  incidents  of  the  past  called  to 
mind.  Wliile  most  of  them  have  now  passed  away,  the  old  people 
have  pleasure  in  their  memory,  recalling  incidents  in  their  lives  and 
remembering  what  they  achieved.  All  of  them  are  well  remembered, 
many  of  them  became  noted  men  in  politics,  religion,  law  and  general 
business,  while  scarcely  one  failed  in  his  work  as  a  farmer.  Speaking 
of  individuals,  let  it  be  said  with  pride,  that  in  the  legislative  investi- 
gation of  the  railroad  land  grant  bribery  of  1856,  Fond  du  Lac 
county  had  the  only  two  men,  Edward  Pier  in  the  senate  and  Isaac 
Brown  in  the  assembly,  who  came  through  it  all  without  taint. 

Here  are  the  150  pioneer  hero  farmers  of  Fond  du  Lac  county. 
Take  off  your  hat  in  their  honor  as  you  read  their  names : 


Edward  Pier. 
Colwert  Pier. 
Calvin  Pier. 
Norman    Pier. 
C.  N.  Kendall. 

A.  N.  Kendall. 
John  C.  Bishop. 
John  H.  Martin. 
Selim  Newton. 
J.  J.  Brayton. 
Isaac  Crofoot. 
Francis  McCai'ty. 
Pat.  Kelly. 
Henry  Conklin. 

B.  Nightengale. 
Jasper  Clark. 
O.   J.    Soper. 
Matt.  Butler. 
Russell  Wilkinson. 
Robert  Wilkinson. 
John  Wilkinson. 

S.  Botsford. 

C.  Tunison. 
Isaac  Orvis. 

W.  W.  Wheeler. 
B.  J.   Gilbert. 
Henry  Bush. 
A.   Raymond. 
Reuben  Simmons. 
Jay  Roblee. 
Edward  Beeson. 


Daniel  Sabin. 
Almon  Osborn. 

A.  B.  Beardsley. 
Hiram  Morris. 
Dr.  Cruthers. 
Alfred  Bliss. 
Jeff.   Brayman 
Paddy  Miles. 
George  Parker. 
Pat.  Lyons. 

P.  Borderman. 
Michael  Horey. 
Peter  Calahan. 
Pat.  Maloney. 
Harry  Sears. 
R.  M.  Harwood. 
Sumner    Sweet. 
Daniel    Brooks. 
Emerson   Fay. 
Hiram  Walker. 
Daniel  Eggleston. 
R.  Jenkinson. 
H.   C.  Eggleston. 
Joseph   Scribner. 
Warren   Whiting. 
William    Hayes. 
Warren   Florida. 
W.  C.  Dodge. 

B.  H.  Bettis. 
John  Beirne. 
Arthur  H.  Steen. 


John  Beeson. 
Joseph  Stow. 
Henry  Spofford. 
Alfred  Ward. 
John  Case. 
W.  Hall. 
John  Hall. 
J.  R.  Fisher. 
Dan  Trelevan. 
Theodore  Trelevan. 
John  Trelevan. 
James  Wright. 
L.   B.   Hills. 
N.   M.   Donaldson. 
W.  J.  Ripley. 
H.  W.  Hubbard. 
Henry  Halsted. 
I.  N.  Woodruff. 
H.  W.  Wolcott. 
Wm.  Blocker. 
Edwin  Reynolds. 
Peter  "V.  Sang. 
H.  D.  Hitt. 
A.  H.  Clark. 
Robt.  Estabrooks. 
Col.  H.  Tryon. 
G.  D.  Ruggles. 
H.  R.  Colman. 
Chas.  Colman. 
John  Fancher. 
James  Hersey. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


113 


S.  N.  McCrea. 

F.  Pelton. 
Fayette  Brown. 
Dr.  Elliott  Brown. 
John   Bannister. 

G.  de  Neveu-. 
Harry  Giltner. 
John   Boyd. 

T.  I.  Burhyte. 
Wm.  Boehner. 
John  Taylor. 
Aaron   Walters. 
William  Stewart. 
Charles  D.  Gage. 
A.  T.  Germond. 
Seth  Sylvester,  Sr. 
Seth  Sylvester,  Jr. 
James  Sylvester. 
John  Parsons. 
Joseph    Kinsman. 
William  Styles 
David    Lyons. 
John   Hobbs. 
John   Balsam. 
D.  P.  Mapes. 
David    Dunham. 
Eben  Norton. 
Henry  Barnett. 
William   Pool. 
Dr.   S.   G.  Pickett. 
G.  W.  Sexmith. 
James  McElroy. 


W.  R.  Tallmadge. 
M.   S.   Barnett. 
Harvey  Wheeler. 
S.  N.  Hawes. 
Joseph  Wagner. 
Edward   Ensign. 
G.  W.   Parker. 
Dana  Lamb. 
Geo.  D.  Curtis. 
Jerome  Yates. 
Wm.  Denniston. 
F.  A.  Kimball. 
John  Irving. 
C.  F.  Hammond. 
E.  P.  West. 
Abram  Thomas. 
Jacob   Cartel". 
Egbert  Foster. 
Abner  Baker. 
Leonard  Baker. 
C.  D.  Higley. 
Chas.  Bouton. 
William  Light. 
C.  P.  Phelps. 
Asher  Armstrong. 
David  Worthing. 
Wm.  Worthing. 
Thos.  Worthing. 
Henry  Willard. 
Put  Mason. 
Norman  Mason. 
Nathan    Hunter. 


A.  C.  Whiting. 
Salmon  Wedge. 
J.  C.  Wedge. 
Lorenzo   Hazen. 
Chester  Hazen. 
Sanford   Hazen. 
Loren   Hazen. 
John  Hazen. 
Calvin  Hazen. 
Sewel  Hazen. 
T.  F.  Mayham. 

A.  S.  Wilkinson. 
Thomas   Price. 
Almon    Atwood. 
Mary  C.  Towns. 
Frank  Furman. 
Mrs.  Wilson. 
Leonard   Bissell. 
Betsey  Howard. 
Sarah   Rogers. 
John   Jackson. 
Geo.  Jackson. 

F.  W.  Wells. 
P.  E.  Town. 
Geo.  C.  White. 
Henry   Friday. 
Thomas   McCoy. 
John   Leaiy. 

B.  F.  Strong. 
J.  J.  Gray. 
Gerrit   Romain. 


Colwert  and  Edward  Pier  were  settlers  who  cotild  tell  all  about 
the  real  hardships  of  pioneer  life.  From  bitter  experience  they  could 
tell  of  the  unpleasant  character  of  Indians  and  wolves  as  neighbors — 
how  difificult  it  was  to  prevent  the  stealing  of  what  they  brought  in 
and  raised  for  food.  Edward  Pier's  hardest  experience  was  when  the 
Indians  stole  and  killed  his  cow  on  which  he  mainly  depended  for  the 
support  of  his  family  during  the  winter. 

The  old  Fond  du  Lac  Company  entered  this  land  at  the  govern- 
ment land  office  at  Green  Bay,  in  1835,  and  the  following  spring  built 
the  old  log  house.  In  June,  1836.  Colwert  Pier  and  wife  went  into 
it  to  live  and  were  the  only  residents  in  the  county.  It  was  in 
February,  1836,  that  Edward  and  Colwert  Pier  first  came  here,  and 
they  slept  on  the  ground  on  the  banks  of  the  river.  Edward  and  his 
brother  selected  their  land  and  Edward  went  to  Green  Bay  for  his 
family,  returning  in  June,  when  he  immediately  began  work  on  his 
farm  south  of  the  city,  so  well  known  to  us  all.  In  June,  1837,  Miss 
Harriet  Pier  came  from  Vermont,  and  the  following  September 
Calvin  Pier,  with  his  wife  and  son,  Oliver  W.,  came  from  the  same 
place,  making  a  female  circle  of  three  and  three  families  in  the  entire 
county.  In  March,  1838,  John  Bannister  appeared  with  his  family 
and  the  first  year  he  was  holding  so  many  offices  that  one  is  reminded 


114  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

on  reading-  about  it,  of  Pee  Boo  in  the  opera  of  Mikado.  Among  his 
offices  was  that  of  justice  of  the  peace,  and  as  such  married  Mr. 
Alonzo  Raymond  and  Miss  Harriet  Pier,  the  first  marriage  in  this 
county.  In  March,  1838,  Mrs.  Fanny,  wife  of  Colwert  Pier,  died, 
which  was^the  first  funeral  in  the  county.  John  A.  Bannister,  son  of 
John  Bannister,  was  born  in  June,  1838,  and  was  the  first  birth  in  the 
county.     He  died  in  1857,  just  as  he  was  entering  manhood. 

When  the  pioneer  settler  of  fifty  years  ago  reached  his  land,  his 
first  obstacles  were  lack  of  shelter  and  of  food.  Lumber  was  scarce 
with  which  to  erect  shanties,  and  food  very  high  in  price.  Our 
pioneers  often  went  to  Watertown  and  Sheboygan  Falls  with  ox 
teams,  to  get  grinding  done,  and  over  roads  not  much  better  than 
Indian  trails.  The  streams  had  to  be  depended  upon  largely  for 
power,  as  steam  engines  with  accompanying  boilers  were  heavy, 
cumbersome  and  difficult  of  transportation  into  a  new  country. 
Kerosene  oil  was  unknown  until  well  into  the  fifties  and  gasoline  for 
power  was  more  than  a  half  century  in  the  future.  When  his  land 
was  broken  and  his  crop  raised,  it  was  no  small  job  to  gather  and  get 
it  ready  for  use  with  the  rude  appliances  then  obtainable.  Hay  had 
to  be  cut  with  a  scythe  and  small  grain  with  the  cradle,  the  latter  an 
implement  which  many  farmers  in  this  day  have  never  seen,  but  they 
were  made  in  large  numbers  in  Fond  du  Lac  by  M.  Farnsworth, 
whose  shop  stood  upon  the  ground  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Chenej-'s 
stove  store,  on  East  First  street.  The  pioneer  threshed  his  grain  by 
tramping  it  out  with  horses  or  pounding  it  out  with  flails,  and  when 
ready  for  the  mill,  the  question  was,  where  is  the  mill?  To  raise 
pigs,  sheep  or  chickens,  constant  vigilance  was  required  to  saVe  them 
from  the  Indians,  wolves,  dogs  and  other  animals.  And  so  the 
pioneer  had  a  struggle  for  food.  To  obtain  clothes  for  himself  and 
family  often  required  self-denial  of  the  most  rigid  order  and  very 
close  calculation  from  one  year  to  another.  They  had  little  use  for 
the  silks,  feathers  and  finery  of  our  day,  and  tailor  made  clothing  was 
not  dreamed  of. 

The  following  exciting  incidents  in  pioneer  life,  occurring  in  the 
town  of  Oakfield  in  1840,  two  years  after  Dr.  Darling  had  settled  at 
Fond  du  Lac,  are  copied  from  Martin  Mitchell's  History  of  Fond  du 
Lac   County,   printed   in    1854: 

"The  first  settlement  was  attempted  in  this  town  in  1840,  by  Mr. 
Russel  Wilkinson,  about  one  mile  south  of  the  present  village  of 
Avoca,  at  a  place  called  the  Wilkinson  settlement.  He  purchased 
land,  and  removed  his  family  from  the  county  of  Rensalaer  in  New 
York.  The  Indians  had  relinquished  their  title  to  the  land,  but  still 
remained  in  the  neighborhood,  and  were  often  committing  various 
depredations  upon  Mr.  Wilkinson,  they  finally  burned  his  house, 
in  the  absence  of  the  inmates;  with  his  furniture  and  provisions.  He 
concluded  to  abandon  his  farm  for  a  season,  got  a  pair  of  oxen  and 
stoneboat  (his  wife  in  very  delicate  health)  and  removed  his  family 
to  the  house  of  Mr.  Edward  Pier  in  Fond  du  Lac.  He  remained  in 
Fond  du  Lac  until  October,  1843,  when  he  returned,  accompanied  by 
his  brother  Robert. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  115 

"They  for  a  short  time,  were  the  only  citizens  of  the  town,  but 
were  soon  followed  by  Mr.  Botsford,  Mr.  Silvernail,  Mr.  Tanner  and 
Mr.  Hazen.  The  next  year  Mr.  Hubbard,  Mr.  Ripley,  Mr.  Sykes 
and  Mr.  Westfall  became  their  neighbors.  There  were  no  roads; 
Indian  trails  were  the  only  thoroughfares,  and  the  few  settlers  on 
many  occasions,  became  acquainted  with  the  hardships  and  privations 
of  pioneer  life.  Provisions  and  groceries  were  only  obtained  at  Green 
Bay,  about  seventy  miles  distant. 

"Families  were  sometimes  destitute  of  any  kind  of  food,  but 
potatoes,  for  four  weeks  in  succession,  and  while  the  men  were  gone 
to  Green  Bay  for  provisions,  women  were  frequently  left  entirely 
alone  for  three  or  four  days  and  nights,  surroundeed  by  wolves  and 
Indians. 

"Mrs.  Westfall  was  once  left,  not  only  alone,  but  destitute  of 
any  kind  of  food,  but  such  berries  or  roots  as  the  woods  afforded, 
for  three  days  and  nights ;  and  to  make  her  condition  more  unpleas- 
ant, her  fire  became  extinct,  she  had  no  means  of  rekindling  it,  and 
thus  surrounded  by  wolves,  Indians  and  innumerable  mosquitos,  she 
passed  the  night  in  total  darkness.  Mr.  Westfall  and  his  wife  endured 
many  hardships  and  suffered  many  privations ;  he  was  once  lost  in  the 
woods  forty-eight  hours  without  food,  in  a  severe  rain  storm;  he 
finally  reached  his  home  with  his  clothes  torn,  his  limbs  swollen  and 
lacerated,  in  a  state  of  great  exhaustion.  He  with  his  wife,  endured 
the  pinchings  of  poverty  and  misfortune,  until  January,  1847,  when 
he  was  found  frozen  to  death  near  what  is  now^  the  village  of  Avoca, 
the  first  hamlet  and  postoffice  in  the  town  of  Oakfield.  When  the 
railroad  passed  through  Oakfield  the  site  of  the  village  was  moved 
one  mile  west  and  called  Oakfield.  His  widow  was  afterward  married 
to  Mr.  Sherman  Botsford,  with  whom  she  now  lives,  surrounded  with 
all  the  comforts  of  life. 

"Mr.  John  Wilkinson,  who  came  into  this  town  soon  after  his 
brothers  Russell  and  Robert,  was  killed  by  the  fall  of  a  tree,  about 
eighteen  months  after  his  arrival.  He  left  a  widow  and  four  children. 
He  had  taken  up  forty  acres  of  land,  but  had  not  paid  for  it.  The 
neighbors,  with  that  noble  benevolence  which  is  a  peculiar  character- 
istic of  pioneers,  in  the  midst  of  their  own  poverty  and  privations, 
raised  the  money,  paid  for  the  land  and  gave  it  to  the  bereaved 
family. 

"Mr.  Russell  Wilkinson  died  suddenly  of  fever  May  4th,  1847. 
His  w^idow  was  afterward  married  to  Mr.  C.  Tunison,  with  whom  she 
now  lives,  on  the  same  farm  where  they  first  lived  in  an  Indian  wig- 
wam, till  Mr.  Wilkinson  built  a  log  house." 

Hon.  H.  D.  Hitt  was  also  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  town  of 
Oakfield  and  knows  of  the  struggles  of  the  settlers  by  experience. 
And  he  knows  the  lay  of  the  land  from  Milwaukee  to  Fond  du  Lac, 
having  passed  over  the  country  more  than  once  on  foot. 

The  Sylvester  family  also  know^  of  country  hardships  by  bitter 
experience.  Meeting  with  misfortune,  three  dollars  was  the  total 
family  capital  on  arrival  at  Milwaukee.  This  was  pooled  for  imme- 
diate use  and  nine  months  of  hard  work  enabled  them  to  start  for 


116  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Pond  du  Lac,  and  on  their  arrival  a  shanty  was  erected  on  the  well 
known  Sylvester  farm  in  Byron.  They  dug  potatoes  for  Pat  Kelly 
for  one  bushel  in  ten,  and  did  other  work  for  their  neighbors  to  make 
both  ends  meet. 

William  Adams,  wdio  died  recently  at  his  home  in  the  town  of 
Eden,  was  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  this  county,  and  his  face  was 
familiar  to  most  people  of  this  city.  He  came  to  Fond  du  Lac  county 
in  1847  ^nd  settled  in  the  town  of  Forest,  but  afterwards  moved  to 
Empire,  then  to  Eden  where  his  home  was  for  many  years.  Besides 
the  homestead  in  Eden,  he  had  long  owned  a  farm  in  Eldorado.  Mr. 
Adams  was  in  many  respects  a  remarkable  man,  capable,  idustrious, 
honest,  he  never  failed  in  his  undertakings.  In  his  intercourse  with 
his  friends,  he  tried  always  to  do  his  whole  duty  and  few  indeed  will 
say  he  did  not  succeed.  He  was  an  honored  member  of  the  Old 
Settlers'  Club  and  his  death  is  greatly  lamented. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  twentieth  century,  the  pioneer  of  the 
west  has  but  a  slight  realization  of  the  obstacles  encountered  b}'  the 
early  settlers  of  Fond  du  Lac  county.  Railroad  transportation  is  now 
obtainable  to  within  a  few  miles  of  almost  any  point,  while  we  had 
but  miserable  trails  and  not  a  rod  of  railroad  in  the  state.  All  sorts 
of  machinery  and  tools,  including  mills,  may  be  had  in  a  few  days — 
they  were  not  in  existence  when  our  pioneers  struggled.  All  sorts 
of  building  material  is  now  readily  obtained,  our  pioneers  were  com- 
pelled to  resort  to  logs  and  poles  to  build  hovels  to  cover  their  heads 
from  the  storm.  The  western  pioneer  of  today,  of  course  meets  with 
privations  and  annoyances,  but  the  world  in  general  has  progressed 
too  far  for  him  to  duplicate  the  experiences  in  Fond  du  Lac  county, 
Wisconsin.  A  half  century  has  brought  remarkable  changes.  Will 
another  half  century  leave  any  pioneers — will  we  have  any  frontier 
left  for  settlement — doubtful.  The  rapid  rate  of  settlement  the  past 
few  years,  indicates  an  absorption  of  the  country  by  settlers,  long 
before  the  end  of  another  fifty  years. 


The  First  City   Directory. 

The  first  city  directory  of  Fond  du  Lac,  that  for  the  year  1857, 
was  compiled  by  Bingham  &  Co.,  and  printed  in  the  office  of  the  Fond 
du  Lac  Union.  The  entire  book  consists  of  104  pages,  forty-one  of 
the  pages  being  given  to  names  of  residents  and  sixty-three  to  sum- 
maries, notices  and  advertisements.  The  book  contains  about  1,700 
names,  indicating  a  total  population  of  about  2,400.  A.  T.  Glaze 
printed  the  book,  assisted  by  two  brothers  by  the  name  of  Brown, 
who  worked  in  the  Union  office.  The  copy  now  owned  by  Mr.  Glaze, 
was  found  in  the  attic  of  the  residence  of  Dr.  T.  S.  Wright,  on  Forest 
Avenue,  thirty-five  years  after  it  was  printed.  The  ink  used  in  print- 
ing the  book  holds  its  color  and  now,  though  nearly  half  a  century 
has  elapsed  since  it  was  issued,  the  book  is  in  every  respect  as  solid 
and  perfect  as  when  first  given  to  the  people  forty-eight  years  ago. 
The  condition  and  appearance  indicate  that  it  may  last  another  half 
century  if  properly  housed  and  cared  for. 


EARLY  DAYS  FLOURING  MILLS 


How  They  Were  Built  and   Managed  and   Difficulties  Encountered 
by  Settlers  in  Getting  Grinding  Done, 


When  the  pioneers  arrived  in  Fond  du  Lac  county,  among  the 
first  things  inquired  was,  "Where  can  I  get  grinding  done  to 
feed  myself  and  family,  and  where  can  I  get  lumber  to  cover  our- 
selves from  the  storm?"  The  most  important  thing  was  food,  for  we 
must  remember  that  the  situation  then  was  very  different  from  that 
of  the  present  time.  Then  the  farmer's  own  wheat  and  corn  as  a 
grist  must  be  taken  to  the  mill  and  be  ground  by  the  miller,  now  the 
grain  is  sold  readily  and  there  is  no  waiting  upon  the  motion  of  the 
miller  or  for  the  dam  to  fill  with  water  to  give  power  to  his  mill. 

Flour,  meal  and  feed  for  stock  may  now  be  had  from  dealers  in 
extreme  frontier  towns.  Our  pioneers  had  to  go  to  the  mill,  but 
where  was  the  mill?  Up  to  1846  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  to  start 
out  with  oxen  and  wagon  for  Watertown  and  Sheboygan  Falls  with 
grists.  The  late  Lyman  F.  Stow,  J.  C.  Wedge,  Seth  Sylvester,  Sr., 
E.  A.  Carey  and  others  have  been  over  these  roads  for  this  purpose. 
Cheap  power  except  water,  was  many  years  in  the  future  and  steam 
engines  and  boilers  are  heavy  and  difficult  of  transportation  into  a 
new  country. 

The  first  mill  within  reasonable  distance  of  Fond  du  Lac,  how- 
ever, was  one  driven  by  steam  at  Ball's  Corners,  Calumet,  built  in 
1843,  primarily  for  the  Brothertown  people  by  George  W.  Feather- 
stonhaugh.  It  was  located  on  a  small  brook,  but  the  water  was  in- 
sufficient to  drive  it,  so  a  small  steam  engine  was  obtained  for  it.  It 
was  of  limited  capacity,  but  was  in  use  a  number  of  years  and  when 
it  burned,  mills  were  more  numerous  and  it  was  not  rebuilt. 

The  experience  of  E.  A.  Carey  at  this  mill  may  be  related  here. 
One  morning  in  1846,  Ed.  (as  we  all  called  him  then)  loaded  his 
grist  into  his  wagon  and  bright  and  early  started  for  the  mill.  Get- 
ting there  at  noon  the  mill  was  silent  and  cold  and  no  wood  to  get 
up  steam.  He  helped  to  chop  the  wood  and  hauled  it  to  the  mill  and 
got  up  steam,  but  his  grist  was  completed  so  late  he  concluded  to 
stay  all  night.  In  the  morning  his  oxen  were  gone  and  he  scoured 
the  country  looking  for  them,  but  not  until  in  the  afternoon  did  he 
find  them  leisurely  pasturing  on  the  prairie  at  Taycheedah.  Driving 
them  back  to  the  wagon  and  the  yoke,  he  loaded  his  grist  and  started 
for  home  at  10  o'clock  at  night.  But  soon  another  bitter  experience 
came  to  him.  At  the  foot  of  JMcClure's  hill,  this  side  of  what  is  now 
Winnebago  Park,  the  tire  of  one  of  the  wheels  of  the  wagon  came 
off.  He  got  it  on  in  the  darkness  and  managed  to  keep  it  on  with  a 
big  stone  in  each  hand,  until  he  arrived  home  at  3  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  without  having  had  anything  to  eat  since  the  morning  be- 


118  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

fore.  Ed.  says  he  was  tired  and  hungry,  for  he  had  his  boy  appetite 
along  with  him.  One  can  well  imagine  he  would  be  very  hungry 
and  verj-'  tired,  but  to  use  a  modern  expression,  "he  got  there  just 
the  same." 

The  Conklin  mill  in  Empire  was  built  in  1845,  ^^^  did  very  good 
service  for  the  settlers.  It  was  of  limited  capacity,  of  course  like 
all  early  day  mills  on  small  streams. 

Next  came  the  Seymour  mill,  on  the  west  branch  of  the  Fond 
du  Eac  river,  near  where  Seymour  street  now  crosses  that  stream. 
It  was  also  limited  in  its  capacity  for  work  and  during  most  of  its 
existence  was  little  more  than  a  corn  cracker  and  feed  mill.  It  came 
into  existence  in   1848. 

Capt.  Soper  originated  his  scheme  for  a  mill  on  the  east  branch 
of  the  Fond  du  Lac  river,  just  south  of  this  city  in  1849.  O^  course 
the  water  supply  for  power  was  small.  It  did  very  good  work  but 
was  able  to  run  only  in  the  spring  and  fall  when  there  was  plenty  of 
w^ater.     It  has  been  out  of  existence  many  years. 

The  year  1850  brought  a  number  of  mills  to  this  vicinity.  The 
Ike  Orvis  mill  at  Avoca,  near  Oakfield.  and  the  Conklin  mill  at  Oak- 
field  are  still  in  use,  but  being  located  on  a  very  small  stream,  are  of 
limited  capacity.  The  Allen  mill,  located  on  a  small  spring  brook 
a  short  distance  south  of  Winnebago  Park,  had  the  tremendous  head 
of  about  sixty  feet,  but  the  water  supply  was  so  small  that  it  never 
did  much  work.  The  Geisse  mill  at  Taycheedah,  was  a  steam  mill, 
and  the  best  and  most  reliable  of  its  time.  It  was  burned  in  1854 
and  w^as  not  rebuilt.  In  1857  T.  S.  Henry  built  a  mill  near  the  corner 
of  Arndt  and  Brooke  streets.  It  was  run  by  steam,  but  was  burned 
after  a  few  years.  In  1850  John  Beeson,  a  brother  of  Edward  Beeson, 
started  a  sawmill  and  turning  factory  at  Waucousta,  and  in  1856 
added  a  flouring  mill  to  his  plant  there.  Some  later  a  mill  was  built 
at  Dundee.  Eater  on  steam  mills  appeared  at  various  places,  but 
those  had  no  part  or  lot  in  the  pioneer  days'  experiences. 

The  Stone  mill  of  Allen  &  Aldrich  and  Allen  &  Treleven  had  its 
origin  at  a  much  later  period  and  for  a  long  time  was  principally  em- 
ployed in  grinding  corn  for  Boyle  Brothers'  yeast  factory.  The 
Helmer  mills  came  still  later. 

Silver  Creek  at  Ripon,  in  the  early  days,  was  a  fine  .stream  for 
mills,  and  at  one  time  there  were  no  less  than  five  flouring  mills  and 
one  woolen  factory  on  it  within  a  distance  of  two  and  a  half  miles. 
Most  of  these  long  since  disappeared  and  those  left  have  steam  for 
power  much  of  the  year.  The  water  in  the  stream  is  now  but  about 
one-fourth  of  its  former  volume. 

Waupun  has  had  a  water  mill  from  about  1850,  and  like  so  many 
others  was  a  very  good  one  at  first,  l)ut  the  water  decreased  in  quan- 
tity to  the  extent  that  it  became  necessary  to  add  steam. 

In  1848  "it  was  proposed  to  erect  a  first-class  three-story  flour- 
ing mill  in  this  city,"  and  Messrs.  Wheeler,  Snow,  Driggs  and  one 
or  two  others  were  interested  in  it.  The  timber  for  it  was  hewed  and 
the  frame  erected  at  the  corner  of  Macy  and  Court  streets  north  of 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  119 

the  court  house.  That  frame  stood  there  many  years  and  until 
tveather  beaten^  when  the  structure  was  deemed  unsafe  and  the  city 
authorities  ordered  it  removed.  Just  why  the  work  was  not  pro- 
ceeded with  could  not  be  ascertained,  but  it  was  believed  to  be  due 
to  a  lack  of  the  necessary  capital. 

Such  were  the  mills  of  the  early  times  and  such  the  experience 
of  the  pioneers.  After  1852  there  was  little  trouble  in  getting  grind- 
ing done  and  along  toward  i860  an  entirely  new  era  set  in,  when  the 
Minneapolis  and  other  big  millers  began  the  work  of  distributing 
their  product  and  it  has  pretty  much  wiped  out  the  small  mills ;  they 
being  used  now,  if  used  at  all,  as  mere  corn  crackers  and  feed  mills. 
The  railroads  have  reached  out  to  even  the  small  villages  and  the 
product  of  the  large  mills  is  thus  distributed  so  readily  that  prac- 
tically M^e  have  no  frontier  to  need  mills.  The  days  of  privation  such 
as  our  pioneers  experienced,  have  passed  away  forever. 

Let  the  people  of  today  try  to  realize  the  situation  here  in  the 
winter  of  i847-'48,  when  wheat,  corn,  buckwheat  and  rye  were 
pounded  in  a  big  mortar  made  of  wood  instead  of  being  ground  in  a 
mill.  People  now  find  fault  with  roller  made  flour  if  not  in  the  per- 
fection of  milling  and  obtained  at  an  hour's  notice.  Fifty  years  ago 
our  predecessors  Avere  glad  to  get  anything  for  bread — grain  pounded 
in  a  mortar  and  unbolted  was  gladly  accepted.  Ask  B.  J.  Gilbert, 
Jay  Roblee,  James  and  Seth  Sylvester  and  others  of  that  period, 
who  experienced  it.  It  is  said  of  good  natured  Jo.  Hall,  that  during 
that  winter  when  everything  was  frozen  and  the  mills  could  not  run 
because  of  scarcity  of  water,  Jo.  went  to  Sheboygan  Falls  with  a  grist 
and  the  miller  told  him  he  could  not  get  it  in  less  than  four  weeks 
unless  it  rained  or  thawed.  Jo.  told  him  he  did  not  dare  to  go  home 
for  his  wife  would  kill  him  if  he  returned  without  the  grist,  and 
when  supper  time  came  Jo.  ofifered  to  pay  the  miller  a  quarter  to  go 
into  his  house  and  see  them  eat  bread,  which  would  be  a  real  curiosity 
to  him.  Jo.'s  humor  induced  the  miller  to  tell  him  if  he  would  keep 
out  of  sight  until  after  dark  and  would  leave  for  home  at  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  he  would  run  his  grist  through  for  him.  Jo.'s  fund 
of  humor  was  used  to  some  purpose  that  time. 

Edward  Beeson  was  at  Geisse's  mill  at  Taycheedah,  the  day  his 
son,  J.  J.  Beeson,  founder  of  the  Reporter,  was  supposed  to  be  stolen 
by  the  Indians,  but  was  asleep  in  a  hen's  nest  behind  a  board  leaning 
against  a  tree. 

The  old  mills  have  now  nearl}^  all  passed  from  existence  and 
reading  about  them  here  is  all  the  knowledge  some  people  will  have 
that  they  ever  were  here.  People  now  living  or  in  the  future  to  come, 
will  not  have  experiences  such  as  our  ancestors  had  in  this  important 
matter.  The  conditions  are  different,  the  way  of  doing  things  is 
different.  Let  us  therefore  read  and  reflect  on  what  those  pioneers 
did  for  us ;  how  they  endured  privations  and  suiTered  for  us  and  left 
this  grand  and  beautiful  country  in  shape  for  us  to  enjoy.  Let  us 
cherish  their  memory  and  give  them  at  least  an  occasional  thought. 


120  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 

Forgot  His  Wife  at  Oshkosh. 

During-  one  of  the  winters  of  many  years  ago,  a  musical  conven- 
tion was  held  at  Oshkosh,  and  many  Fond  du  Lac  people  attended. 
Among  the  musical  notables  was  Emerson  Hawley,  who  assisted  in 
conducting  the  convention.  When  ready  to  return  home,  two  large 
sleighs  and  one  cutter  carried  the  party.  They  came  over  on  the  ice, 
and  as  they  neared  the  mouth  of  the  river,  Mr.  Hawley  discovered 
that  he  had  forgotten  something — his  wife.  She  was  in  that  city  and 
alone,  so  the  only  thing  to  be  done  was  to  go  back  after  her,  so  the 
cutter  was  headed  north  and  the  balance  of  the  party  came  on  home. 
Annoying  as  the  forced  return  was  to  Mr.  Hawley,  the  annoyance 
by  his  friends  for  months  about  forgetting  his  wife,  was  much  more 
so.     It  was  a  lono-  time  before  he  heard  the  last  of  it. 


Council  Wants  Circus  Tickets. 

In  1858  the  common  council  of  Fond  du  Lac  passed  a  resolution 
that  in  future  all  circuses  must  pay  a  license  and  furnish  tickets  for 
members  of  the  council  and  city  officers.  When  Yankee  Robinson's 
show  came  there  was  a  kick  and  the  show  put  up  its  tent  on  Rahte's 
farm,  south  of  the  city  and  just  outside  the  city  limits.  An  old 
wagon  and  a  pair  of  sorry  looking  horses  now  appeared  on  the  streets 
with  fife  and  drum  and  a  large  man  with  tremendous  voice,  declaring 
readiness  to  pay  the  license  but  stopped  at  the  tickets.  Between 
each  of  the  announcements  came  rattling  of  the  fife  and  drum  that 
would  scare  an  Indian  out  of  town.  The  scene  provoked  much 
laughter  and  for  ridicule  it  was  a  great  success  and  no  more  was 
ever  heard  about  circus  tickets.  In  after  years  it  delighted  Jo. 
Serwe  to  tell  of  the  affair. 


An  Albino  Barber. 

M.  Wagner  &  Son  now  have  a  fine  dry  goods  store  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  Ivlain  and  ^^'est  Second  streets,  but  there  was  a  time 
that  a  small  wood  building  stood  on  that  ground  and  Horace  Durand 
had  a  harness  shop  in  it.  In  the  rear  for  a  long  time  stood  the  old 
building  known  as  the  Exchange  Hotel,  now  a  part  of  the  Lewis 
House.  For  a  long  time  one  of  the  occupants  of  the  old  Exchange, 
was  a  full  Albino,  pink  eyes,  florid  complexion  and  light  hair,  named 
Mitchell,  who  carried  on  a  barber  shop  there.  His  wife  was  a  negro 
of  considerable  ability  and  drew  many  a  customer  to  the  shop  by 
story  telling.  Her  use  of  the  language  was  fine,  but  her  husband 
was  remarkable  for  the  use  of  big  words.  He  constantly  kept  in  use 
the  most  remarkable  words  in  the  dictionary,  without  reference  to 
meaning  or  place.  He  would  work  in  several  big  words  in  succession 
and  to  the  extent  that  his  talk  was  unintelligible.  The  longer  the 
word  or  the  more  infretjuent  in  use,  the  better  for  him.  His  talk  was 
laughable  for  the  intelligent  and  perplexing  for  the  ignorant.  He 
was  most  remarkable  and  his  peculiarity  besides  his  wife's  story  tell- 
ing, brouirht  him  customers. 


DRUGS  AND  MEDICINES 


Those   Who   Sold   Medicines   in   Early   Days   and   Who   are   Selling 

Them     Now  —  Apothecary  —  Druggist  —  Pharmacist. 

Wonderful  Developments  in  the  Business. 


The  business  man  now  known  as  a  "pharmacist."  a  few  years 
back  was  universally  known  as  a  "druggist,"  but  aged  people  now 
living  remember  that  "apothecary"  was  the  familiar  name  applied 
to  the  business  of  keeping  medicines  in  a  store.  And  how  different 
the  practice!  The  apothecary  of  former  times  was  expected  to 
gather  and  prepare  domestic  remedies  for  use.  His  sphere  embraced 
the  refining  of  crude  articles,  coming  sometimes  from  foreign 
countries.  He  compounded  and  put  up  Godfrey's  Cordial,  Bateman's 
Drops,  Macassar  Oil,  Golden  Tincture  and  many  other  like  articles, 
then  generally  used.  He  steeped,  percolated  and  filtered  his  own 
roots  and  herbs  and  made  pills.  He  was  a  busy  man,  though  he  had 
very  few  or  no  prescriptions  to  prepare,  and  found  little  time  for 
"sitting  around."  He  knew  nothing  of  the  alkaloids,  tablets,  sugar 
coated  pills  and  fine  tinctures  now  prepared  in  every  desirable  form 
at  the  city  pharmacies,  supplied  with  every  known  appliance  for  such 
work,  and  where  these  articles  are  furnished  in  almost  endless  variety 
and  in  doses  sized  to  suit  the  physician.  The  crude  remedy  and  big- 
dose,  so  familiar  to  the  apothecary,  are  now  almost  unknown.  The 
prescription  business  now  so  common,  is  the  growth  of  comparatively 
few  years,  and  was  almost  unknown  to  the  apothecary.  In  his  day 
the  physician  bought  his  medicines  and  appliances  at  the  store  and 
dispensed  them  at  his  ofiice  or  from  his  saddlebags. 

The  modern  methods  became  known  to  some  extent  when  the 
druggist  was  recognized.  The  name,  as  well  as  the  improved  medical 
methods,  was  a  matter  of  growth.  The  druggist  was  supplied  with 
many  of  the  refined  articles  and  the  physicians  gladly  adopted  them. 
New  discoveries  were  constantly  being  made  in  the  treatment  of 
diseases  as  well  as  in  the  remedies  used.  In  this  as  in  most  things, 
the  march  of  improvement  was  onward. 

But  about  the  year  1880  the  word  pharmacist  was  recognized,  and 
in  1882,  when  the  Wisconsin  legislature  authorized  the  first  pharma- 
ceutical board,  the  word  pharmacist  came  into  use.  The  young 
practitioner  of  pharmacy  today,  has  little  conception  of  the  work  of 
the  apothecary,  though  the  druggist  is  not  an  entire  stranger.  The 
pharmacist  of  our  day  has  everything  in  the  highest  degree  profes- 
sional and  useful.  His  medicines  come  from  pharmacies  and  drug 
mills  known  everywhere  for  the  perfection  of  their  product,  hence 
prescriptions  are  put  up  with  the  greatest  confidence  as  to  efficacy 
and  cleanliness.  Errors  are  practically  eliminated  by  the  pharma- 
ceutical law.     There  mav  be  found  in  these    stores    a    few    articles 


122 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


known  to  the  trade  as  "commercial,"  but  they  are  not  used  for  medical 
prescriptions.  The  complaint  that  is  heard  most  is  that  of  a  lack  of 
cleanliness,  something  that  should  be  practiced  above  all  else  by  the 
pharmacist.  The  prescription  case  should  be  kept  scrupulously  clean, 
and  graduated  measures,  knives,  mortars,  slabs  and  all  appliances 
are  carefully  washed  by  the  pharmacist  every  time  they  are  used. 
Complaints  are  sometimes  heard  of  in  the  matter,  but  it  is  pleasing 
to  note  that  it  is  not  often.  Remedy  this  and  there  will  be  little  to 
complain  of  in  modern  pharmacy. 

Dr.  T.  B.  Brigham,  it  is  said  by  some,  was  the  first  Fond  du  Lac 
druggist,  but  the  truth  seems  to  be  that  he  was  hardly  doctor  or 
druggist.  He  was  a  missionary  preacher,  stopping  on  his  periodical 
journeyings  from  Green  Bay  to  Fond  du  Lac,  at  Stockbridge,  Brother- 
town  and  other  hamlets,  to  doctor  the  natives  and  preach  to  them. 
He  had  in  one  corner  of  Clock  &  Weikert's  store,  in  the  Fond  du  Lac 
house  in  1846,  a  few  bottles,  boxes  and  bundles  containing  often 
used  medicines,  and  this  was  styled  a  "drug  store." 

Dr.  O.  S.  Wright  established  the  first  real  drug  store  in  Fond  du 
Lac  in  1847,  ^^^  continued  until  1851,  when  he  sold  out. 

D.  R.  Curran  came  here  the  same  year,  1847,  ^^^d  opened  his  drug 
store,  which  he  continued  many  years.  The  store  was  located  in  the 
building  of  the  New  York  store  of  A.  P.  &  G.  N.  Lyman,  in  charge 
of  Wm.  A.  Dewey,  on  the  east  side  of  Main  street,  between  First 
and  Second.  The  drug  store  was  in  the-  south  end,  on  the  land  on 
which  the  Fonda  restaurant  now  stands.  Burned  out  with  the  whole 
block  in  1852,  it  was  re-opened  on  the  west  side  of  the  street,  where 
it  remained  many  years. 

Root  &  Partridge  opened  the  next  drug  store  in  Fond  du  Lac, 
in  the  middle  room  of  the  old  Darling  block  and  it  was  the  first 
business  in  that  memorable  structure,  though  the  stores  of  Brownson 
&  Laughlin  in  the  south  end  and  T.  &  B.  Mason  in  the  north  end, 
opened  close  to  the  same  time.  J.  R.  &  J.  W.  Partridge  continued 
the  business  until  1856,  when  it  was  sold. 


Wright,  0.  S. 
Curran,   D.   R. 
Partridge,  J.  R.  &  J.  W. 
Wright,  T.   S. 
Krembs,  Morritz. 
Blinkenburg,  F. 
Brown,  M.  A. 
Baumbach  &  Jacobi. 
Curran  &  Kalk. 
Curran  &  Son. 
Ditter,  John. 
Ditter  &  Mitchell. 
Huber,  J.  C. 


Here  Since   1846. 

Kent  &  Durand. 
Krumme,    F. 
Lowell,  J.  C. 
Miner,  Jay. 
Marshall  &  Dana. 
Marshall,  C.  H. 
Mitchell  &  Pfeil. 
Moulton  &  Griffith. 
Root  &  Partridge. 
Rupp,  L.  &  O. 
Spence,  S.  B. 
Stiles  &  Givens. 
Wright  &  Tucker. 


Stiles,   S.   B. 
Wright  &  Hiner. 
Kalk  &  Kent. 
Kendall  &  Co. 
Lange,   Ed. 
Wright  &   Hamilton. 
Wallichs  &  Dilts. 
Dana,  James  T. 
Breed,  Geo.  N. 
Geisse,   Chas. 
Geisse  &  Taugher. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  12:i 

In  Business  Here  Now. 
The  Huber   Bros.  Reeves  &  Son.  Pfeil  &  Kramer. 

Remington  Drug  Co.  Frank  V.   Masilko.  B.  Buchholz  Co. 

W.  R.  Plank  Drug  Co.        W.  W.  Breister.  Utter  Drug  Co, 

Schleyer  &  Ordway.  Sallade  &  Ruh. 

The  longest  contintiotis  business  in  this  line  in  Fond  du  Lac,  is 
that  of  the  Hubers  established  in  1864,  and  it  has  been  in  the  same 
store  from  the  beginning,  all  the  time  in  charge  of  Mr.  J.  C.  Huber. 
His  advancing  age  and  poor  health  has  caused  him  of  late  to  put  the 
business  in  the  hands  of  his  son,  E.  J.  Huber. 

J.  R.  &  J.  W.  Partridge  had  what  was  doubtless  the  handsomest 
drug  store  Fond  du  Lac  has  ever  had.  The  fixtures  and  furniture 
was  a  nice  imitation  of  rosewood,  the  shelf  furnishings  were  remark- 
ably neat  and  the  entire  store  was  always  kept  clean  and  in  order. 
Mr.  J.  W.  Partridge,  who  was  in  charge,  took  great  pride  in  the  neat- 
ness of  the  store. 

D.  R.  Curran  and  his  son,  Ed.  S.  Curran.  when  he  came  to  man- 
hood, were  popular  in  the  community  and  their  store  was  always  a 
prominent  resort,  and  it  was  seldom  during  business  hours  that  their 
store  was  empty  of  callers.  Prominent  men  from  out  of  town  were 
sure  to  call  at  Curran's  before  leaving  for  home,  and  it  was  the  place 
of  all  others  in  Fond  du  Lac  to  leave  requests.  Fred  Kalk  learned 
the  business  in  this  store  and  he  and  Mr.  Curran  were  probably 
known  personally  to  almost  everybody  in  the  county. 

S.  B.  Spence,  so  well  known  here  as  "Sammy,"  was  a  graduate 
of  the  Philadelphia  School  of  Pharmacy,  and. his  store  was  a  popular 
resort  for  young  men.  He  possessed  a  remarkably  genial  disposition, 
but  tuberculosis  of  the  lungs  brought  him  to  an  early  grave. 

Dr.  T.  S.  Wright  was  for  some  years  the  only  surgeon  here  for 
capital  operations  and  he  was  a  conscientious  druggist,  refusing  to 
sell  anything  from  his  store  on  Sundays  except  medicine  for  the  sick 
or  to  a  physician. 

Eleven  drug  stores  now  doing  business  in  Fond  du  Lac,  seems 
to  be  an  abundant  supply,  but  there  was  a  time  that  we  had  fourteen 
and  the  population  of  the  city  was  not  as  large  as  it  is  now.  The 
number  of  physicians  in  practice  here  previous  to  1850,  was  greater 
in  proportion  to  population  than  it  has  ever  been  since.  The  number 
of  physicians  now  here  is  believed  by  many  to  be  large  in  proportion 
to  population,  but  as  near  as  can  be  ascertained  the  proportion  has 
not  varied  much  since  1850.  The  number  of  drug  stores  is  now  a 
little  below  the  average.  The  proportion  of  drug  stores  to  people 
in  the  state,  is  said  to  be  less  now  than  it  was  twenty  years  ago,  and 
the  reason  for  it  probably  lies  in  the  pharmaceutical  law  which  re- 
quires the  employment  of  a  licentiate  in  pharmacy,  a  registered 
pharmacist  or  a  graduated  physician  to  conduct  the  business,  which 
many  cannot  afford.  There  are  many  general  and  village  stores  that 
keep  a  few  articles  on  sale,  together  with  patent  medicines,  but 
nothing  of  the  nature  of  poisons  and  are  not  drug  stores.  We  have 
in  the  villages  of  this  county,  some  such  stores. 


124  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

In  the  early  days  when  the  apothecaries  ruled  in  these  things, 
many  very  useful  articles  were  sold  in  large  quantities  that  are 
seldom  or  never  heard  of  now.  The  apothecary  bought  dye-stuffs 
by  the  barrel,  such  as  madder,  fustic,  logwood,  etc.,  and  sold  them  to 
the  housewives  by  the  pound,  but  they  are  seldom  heard  of  now. 
If  home  dyeing  is  done  at  all,  it  is  with  packet  dyes.  If  the  crude 
dj'es  are  now  kept  by  the  pharmacist,  it  is  in  very  small  quantities, 
not  by  the  barrel  as  required  by  the  apothecary. 

Another  disappearance  from  the  sales  of  the  pharmacist,  is  the 
dry  colors  for  paints.  In  former  times  dr}^  white  lead,  chrome  yellow 
and  green,  rose-pink,  lampblack,  etc.,  had  a  regular  demand,  but  how 
changed  is  the  situation  in  the  sales  of  dry  colors !  Paints  are  pre- 
pared now  at  paint  mills,  ready  for  the  brush  and  put  up  in  kegs  and 
cans. 

It  is  not  much  more  than  a  half  century  since  varnish  factories 
put  in  an  appearance  and  the  apothecary  made  his  own  copal  and 
Japan  varnish  for  the  use  of  cabinet  shops  that  had  an  existence. 
Many  of  the  coach,  carriage  and  piano  makers  bought  the  gums  and 
made  their  own  varnish.  All  this  is  now  changed  and  all  the  varnish 
comes  from  factories. 

But  who  that  was  familiar  with  the  drug  store  of  fifty  or  even 
twenty-five  years  ago,  and  looks  at  the  contents  of  the  show  cases 
in  a  pharmacy  of  today,  does  not  recognize  the  enormous  increase 
in  what  is  known  as  "druggists'  sundries."  These  articles  have  in- 
creased at  least  ten  fold  and  new  ones  constantly  appearing.  And 
patent  medicines,  known  as  "propietary  articles,"  have  increased  in 
about  the  same  proportion.  When  we  notice  the  fact  that  the  book 
and  stationery  stores  have  all  disappeared,  and  frequent  attempts  to 
re-establish  such  stores  met  with  failure,  we  realize  that  it  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  drug  stores  deal  extensively  in  stationery  and  many 
of  them  in  books.  And  so  changes  are  constantly  going  on,  not  only 
in  the  drug  stores,  but  in  many  other  lines  of  business. 

The  pioneers  of  this  county  went  to  the  cabinet  shop  for  furniture, 
to  the  harness  shop  for  harness,  to  the  shoe  shop  for  boots  and  shoes, 
to  the  plow  shop  for  plows,  to  the  wagon  shop  for  wagons,  to  the 
fanning  mill  shop  for  fanning  mills  and  so  on,  for  such  shops  were 
here  then,  but  all  this  is  changed  now.  These  articles  are  now  made 
at  factories,  the  mechanic  with  his  shop  has  no  show  and  has  been 
compelled  to  abandon  the  field.  The  mechanic  cannot  compete  with 
the  factory. 

City  of  Ripen. 

Following  are  the  names  of  the  pharmacists  who  have  occupied 
the  field  at  Ripon.  David  Greenway  being  the  first: 

David   Greenway.  Sherwood  &  Kessler.  Wright  &  Brayton. 

Isaac  Cooper.  Sherwood  &  Marshal.  Brayton  &  Co. 

De  Frees  &  Esl<ew.  Frank  Uhrlein.  O.  U.  Akin. 

Wm.  Gale.  J.  R.  Hunter.  E.  J.  Burnside. 

Burdett  Phelps.  F.  R.  Hanchett.  Ottmer  Schallern. 

F.  D.  Booth.  Jones  &  Brayton.  Cook  &  Hubbard. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  125 

Now  in  the  Business. 

E.  J.  Burnside.  Ottmer  Schallein.  Cook  &  Hubbard. 

The  above  is  beheved  to  be  a  complete  list,  though  there  may 
have  been  one  or  two  overlooked.  There  is  a  less  number  of  drug- 
gists there  now  than  there  were  for  many  years,  and  it  is  noticeable 
that  all  the  old  occupants  of  the  field  have  disappeared.  Mr.  Burn- 
side  and  Dr.  Schallern  have  been  in  the  business  there  some  years 
but  do  not  belong  to  the  old  school.  The  druggist  in  the  longest 
continuous  business  there  was  DeFrees  &  Eskew,  but  their  firm  dis- 
appeared some  years  ago.  ^Ir.  Eskew  never  resided  in  Ripon  and  Mr. 
DeFrees  is  dead.  And  so  the  older  ones  continue  to  disappear  and 
new  ones  take  their  places. 

City  of  Waupun. 

The  following  is  a  complete  list  of  those  who  have  been  in  the 
drug  business  at  Waupun  from  the  beginning: 

W.  C.  Griffis.  E.  B.  Patton.  D.  J.  Tinner. 

Robert   Hobkirk.  J.  V.  Preston.  R.  W.  Wells. 

F.  S.  Keech.  H.  McCourchis 

In  Business  There  Now. 
E.  B.  Patton.  D.  J.  Turner.  H.    McCourchis 

Brandon — W.  A.  Turner. 

Campbellsport — Wm.  Reinhart,  Paas  &  Hendricks. 

Eairwater — Oliver  M.  Layton. 

North  Fond  du  Lac — J.  E,  Koepenick. 

Oakfield — Burns  Bros. 

Rosendale — McKnight  &  Co. 

R.  M.  Wells,  now  dead,  was  the  pioneer  druggist  at  Waupun, 
and  it  is  proper  here  to  say,  that  in  his  lifetime,  he  was  one  of  the 
most  popular  business  men  in  that  place.  It  was  a  noteworthy  fact 
there,  that  Mr.  Wells  never  refused  medicine  to  any  one  because  of 
inability  to  pay  for  it,  and  it  would  be  furnished  at  any  time,  night 
or  day.     His  widow  still  resides  in  Waupun. 

But  one  of  the  above  druggists  belonged  to  Fond  du  Lac  county 
— all  the  rest  were  in  Dodge  county. 

Most  of  the  villages  in  the  county  are  without  drug  stores,  for 
the  reason  that  the  pharmacy  law  requires  that  they  be  cared  for  by 
a  graduated  physician,  a  registered  pharmacist  or  a  licentiate  in 
pharmacy,  and  the  expense  is  too  heavy.  General  stores  often  keep 
a  few  of  the  common  domestic  articles,  but  nothing  in  the  nature  of 
poisons  can  be  lawfully  sold  without  the  above  supervision.  This 
has  been  the  law  since  1882. 


Two  horse  thieves  who  escaped  from  the  county  jail  in  1857, 
when  Geo.  W^  Mitchell  was  sheriff,  were  followed  so  close  that  they 
hid  in  the  flues  of  a  brick  kiln  near  the  present  Bowen  factory,  when 
they  were  yet  so  hot  that  it  was  wondered  how  they  ever  stood  it. 


126  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Stone    Yard    Experiment. 

Many  years  ago  a  stone  yard  was  started  in  Fond  du  Lac  and 
much  of  the  stone  to  be  seen  in  our  buildings  was  dressed  there. 
Most  of  the  stone  used  was  from  quarries  in  the  ledge  below  Tay- 
cheedah.  The  3^ard  was  not  in  existence  very  long,  but  it  was 
demonstrated  while  it  w^as  here,  that  Fond  du  Lac  has  near  at  hand 
any  quantity  of  splendid  building  stone,  and  all  that  is  needed  to 
make  it  available  is  capital.  The  ledge  is  twenty  miles  long  and  the 
stone  is  absolutely  inexhaustible.  The  stone  yard  was  located  on 
the  bank  of  the  river  and  north  of  Division  street  to  the  grounds  of 
the  present  malt  house.  The  Bullis  livery  barn  was  put  there  since, 
but  the  place  was  far  too  small  for  the  business.  The  place  seemed 
more  like  a  lot  where  stone  was  being  made  ready  for  a  building  than 
a  yard  for  the  preparation  of  a  general  stock.  The  stone  was  fine, 
but  in  the  absence  of  proper  machinery  to  dress  it,  the  hand  work 
gave  it  a  rough  look.  In  short,  the  work  was  not  as  neat  and  finished 
in  appearance.  Among  the  builders  at  that  time  and  since,  the  im- 
pression was  general  that  stone  from  the  ledge,  properly  cut  and 
finished,  could  be  readily  sold.  To  do  this  work  as  it  ought  to  be 
done,  machinery  must  be  used,  but  to  put  it  up  and  dress  the  stone 
in  the  city  or  at  the  quarries,  is  an  important  question.  All  these 
things  belong  to  practical  men  to  consider.  Fond  du  Lac  has  at 
hand  some  of  the  best  building  stone  in  the  state,  and  the  only  ques- 
tion is  how  to  utilize  it.  That  the  one  attempt  made  was  a  failure, 
ought  not  to  hinder  others  and  more  practical  men  with  capital. 
Transportation  of  stone  is  an  important  item  by  rail  or  team,  and 
this  was  doubtless  the  reason  for  cutting  the  stone  here  by  Henry 
Bannister  in  old  times.  With  all  this  fine  material  at  our  doors,  why 
should  Fond  du  Lac  not  have  a  stone  yard  of  modern  appliances. 


Amory  Hall  and  the  Peak  Family. 

When  Amory  block,  opposite  the  Palmer  House,  was  completed 
in  1856,  the  people  of  Fond  du  Lac  were  proud  of  the  structure,  the 
largest  and  best  in  the  city,  and  were  especially  proud  of  Amory  Hall. 
The  dome  was  very  neat  and  the  brackets  of  the  side  walls  were 
beautiful.  They  are  yet,  except  that  they  are  dingy  from  neglect  and 
non-use  of  the  hall.  It  has  been  suggested  many  times  that  it  would 
not  be  a  difficult  or  expensive  undertaking  to  make  that  building  into 
a  beautiful  modern  opera  house,  but  it  more  than  filled  the  bill  of 
wants  in  that  line,  for  the  people  of  Fond  du  Lac,  at  the  time.  The 
Peak  Family  of  bell  ringers  are  well  remembered  by  all  old  timers, 
as  they  have  been  here  many  times,  but  they  opened  Amory  Hall. 
They  gave  the  first  performance  in  it  and  the  crowd  present  was  very 
large — every  nook  and  corner  was  crowded.  They  introduced  the 
songs  "Pretty  Little  Polly  Perkins"  and  "Johnny  Schmoker,"  so 
much  sung  here  for  many  years. 


INDIANS  AND  INDIAN  PAYMENTS 


Some  Interesting  Information  Relative  to  the  Indians  and  the  Ways 
of  Government   Officials   in   Paying   Annuities. 


Up  to  1852  the  Menomonee  Indians  roamed  over  this  section 
of  country  at  will.  Between  Milwaukee,  Theresa  and  Shawano,  their 
visits  were  frequent.  They  were  not  as  troublesome  as  were  the 
Winnebagos,  but  all  were  glad  when  they  were  gone.  The  Menom- 
onees  were  the  last  of  the  Indians  here,  and  since  they  were  moved 
to  their  reservation  at  Keshena.  in  1852,  an  Indian  in  blanket  has 
been  a  curiosity  in  Fond  du  Lac.  Solomon  Juneau  was  the  guiding 
star  of  the  Menomonees.  They  depended  upon  him  for  counsel  and 
he  settled  their  disputes.  His  home  was  in  Milwaukee  and  they  fre- 
quently traveled  long  distances  to  get  his  advice.  He  sometimes 
came  to  Fond  du  Lac  and  Oshkosh  to  set  things  right,  and  at  such 
times  these  places  had  more  Indians  than  they  desired.  At  the  time 
of  the  trial  before  the  county  judge  at  Oshkosh,  relative  to  the  own- 
ership of  a  child  claimed  by  the  Partridges  to  have  been  stolen  from 
them  by  the  Indians  while  at  work  in  a  sugar  camp,  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  tribe  was  there  and  the  feeling  was  bitter.  Solomon  Juneau 
was  there  and  old  Chief  Oshkosh  was  there,  holding  the  Indians  in 
check  and  trouble  was  avoided. 

The  two  years  immediately  preceding  the  removal  of  the  Menom- 
onees to  Keshena,  the  camp  for  the  payment  of  annuities  by  the 
United  States  government,  was  on  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Poygan 
and  we  are  telling  the  story  of  the  payments  for  the  information  of 
people  who  now  know  little  about  Indians  from  actual  observation. 
The  government  Indian  agent  always  had  one  or  two  companies  of 
soldiers  present  to  insure  order.  The  tribe  is  divided  into  bands, 
each  band  having  a  leader.  When  ready  to  pay  them,  the  Indian 
agent  and  clerk  counts  out  the  money  on  a  table  in  equal  piles  for 
each  man,  woman  and  child  of  the  band.  This  table  is  placed  be- 
tween two  doors  on  opposite  sides  of  the  cabin,  then  as  the  names 
are  called,  each  marches  through  alone  and  without  stopping,  hold- 
ing up  the  corner  of  his  blanket,  into  which  the  agent  drops  his  share 
of  the  money.  After  all  have  been  paid,  and  it  includes  all,  children 
as  well  as  older  ones,  the  band  is  marched  away  to  a  vacant  spot, 
where  all  are  seated  on  the  ground  in  a  circle.  The  share  of  the  band 
payable  in  supplies  such  as  salt  pork  and  beef,  flour,  salt,  etc..  is 
rolled  to  the  center  of  the  circle  each  Indian  having  bags  receives  his 
share  under  direction  of  the  leader  of  the  band.  As  the  writer  of 
this  watched  this  part  of  the  work,  he  w'as  impressed  that  some  re- 
ceived more  than  their  share — possibly  favorites — but  there  was  no 
trouble  visible.  Implements  for  gardening  and  working  patches  of 
corn  were  not  given  to  the  individuals  but  bestowed  upon  the  whole 


128  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

of  the  band.  Each  band  of  the  whole  tribe  went  through  this  pro- 
cess. The  payment  was  a  rather  slow  process  for  the  reason  that 
the  roll  was  verified  and  signed  by  each  band  separately  as  such 
before  another  was  paid.  The  evident  object  of  the  agent  was  to  have 
the  work  satisfactory  as  it  progressed  and  not  leave  it  to  the  end. 

At  the  door  of  the  cabin  where  the  Indians  came  out  with  their 
money  in  the  corner  of  their  blankets,  is  where  the  agents  of  the 
traders  got  in  their  work  on  dishonest  Indians  who  did  not  want  to 
pay  their  debts.  If  one  showed  a  disposition  not  to  pay,  the  agents 
would  seize  him  and  take  from  him  enough  to  pay  the  debt.  To 
take  more  than  this  was  not  allowed  by  law.  Once  in  a  while  an 
Indian  would  jump  from  the  door  and  run  and  there  would  be  an 
exciting  chase,  but  the  agents  generally  managed  to  capture  him. 

The  camps  generally  lasted  about  ten  days,  and  as  the  steam- 
boats ran  there  every  day  and  there  were  temporary  hotels,  a  great 
many  people  went  to  see  what  w^as  going  on.  But  gambling  was 
the  great  attraction.  Every  sort  of  game  was  played  with  cards, 
and  there  was  keno,  dice,  wheels  and  all  sorts  of  devices.  The 
gambling  tables  were  crowded  every  night  and  all  night.  The  hotel 
men  often  had  to  drive  the  gamblers  out  to  set  the  tables  for  break- 
fast. Few  of  the  Indians  seemed  to  gamble,  so  that  feature  of  the 
Indian  payments  must  have  been  brought  there  by  others.  There 
were  several  shows  there  including  a  theatre.  The  Indians  had  pet 
bears  and  other  petted  wild  animals,  some  of  them  very  interesting. 
In  the  evening  the  tom-tom  playing  and  dancing  and  Indian  flute 
playing  attracted  crowds  of  people  at  the  camp.  But  all  this  long 
since  passed  away  and  interest  in  the  red  man  belongs  only  to 
history.  A  wild  Indian  in  paint  and  blanket  is  a  curiosity  in  Fond 
du  Lac  now,  but  at  the  time  of  which  we  write,  they  w6re  to  be 
seen  loafing  around  almost  every  day,  sometimes  singly,  but  oftener 
in  companies  of  three  to  twenty.  A  favorite  place  for  their  wigwams 
was  among  the  small  trees  and  brush  then  existing  plentifully  east* 
of  Main  street  and  between  Merrill  street  and  the  lake  shore.  The 
wigwams  were  generally  found  in  groups  of  two  to  five.  The  Indian 
boys  were  sometimes  seen  on  the  streets  with  bows  and  arrows  to 
shoot  at  pennies  set  up  by  the  curious  on  split  sticks  stuck  in  the 
ground,  but  candor  -compels  the  assertion  that  their  marksmanship 
w^as  poor.  They  would  often  shoot  at  a  penny  many  times  before 
bringing  it  down,  though  the  distance  was  not  great.  The  proverbial 
skill  of  the  noble  red  man  with  his  bow  and  arrow  was  seldom  seen 
here. 

It  was  fortunate  for  early  settlers  in  Fond  du  Lac  county,  that 
the  Winnebago  Indians  were  moved  to  the  Wisconsin  river  region 
before  they  came,  but  some  stragglers  would  return,  and  sometimes 
in  stifficient  numbers  to  make  trouble.  It  was  undoubtedly  these 
fellows  who  did  the  mischief  in  Oakfield  at  the  Wilkinson  settlement, 
for  no  one  who  knew  the  Menomonees  believe  they  were  guilty  of 
such  an  atrocity.  After  some  years  these  Winnebagos  began  to  be 
troublesome  to  the  people  at  Stevens  Point,  Grand  Rapids  and  other 
places  along  the  Wisconsin  river,  and  the  general  government  again 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  129 

removed  them,  this  time  west  of  the  Mississippi  river.  But  Col. 
Moore,  of  LaCrosse,  who  had  them  in  charge,  could  not  make  them 
stay  there  and  most  of  them  straggled  back  to  the  region  of  Black 
River  Falls,  and  have  since  behaved  themselves  very  well.  In  pur- 
suing his  work  on  Indian  legends.  Col.  R.  G.  Thewaltz,  of  the  Wis- 
consin State  Historical  Society,  spent  some  weeks  among  them,  and 
regards  them  as  having  made  at  least  some  progress  in  general  civili- 
zation since  they  were  here. 

Wandering  bands  of  Pottonwalomies  and  Chippewas  were 
occasionally  in  Fond  du  Lac  in  early  days,  but  were  generally  simply 
passing  on  their  way  and  their  stay  was  short. 

The  Brothertowns  were  civilized  when  they  were  brought  from 
the  east  to  settle  on  their  lands  on  the  east  shore  of  Lake  \Vinnebago, 
and  soon  after  arriving  here  were  made  citizens  by  an  act  of  congress. 
But  as  has  been  shown  by  other  experiments,  Indian  blood  cannot 
stand  civilization  and  the  Brothertowns  have  become  almost  extinct. 

An  "Indian  party"  and  a  "citizens'  party"  divided  the  Stockbridge 
tribe  when  it  was  brought  here  from  the  east  to  settle  upon  land  on 
the  east  side  of  Lake  Winnebago,  immediately  north  of  the  Brother- 
towns.  John  W.  Quinney.  leader  of  the  Indian  party,  and  Mr.  Adams, 
leader  of  the  citizens'  part}',  spent  much  time  at  Washington, 
harrassing  congress  and  the  government  officials  for  relief  from  the 
annoyances  of  the  situation.  After  some  years  the  Indian  adherents 
were  moved  north  to  Shawano  county,  and  the  citizen  adherents 
remained  here.  But  it  was  a  mere  matter  of  time  with  them  and  few 
are  now  left  to  tell  the  tale  of  the  once  great  Stockbridge  nation. 
John  W.  Quinney  plead  at  Washington  for  the  lives  of  his  people 
whom  he  said  would  perish  amid  scenes  of  farm  life,  but  they  also 
died  ofif  in  the  woods  and  wilds  of  Shawano  county. 

These  are  the  Indians  that  Fond  du  Lac  county  people  were 
familiar  with  in  early  days,  and  whether  good  or  bad  Indians,  no 
one  cares  to  see  them  here  aeain. 


First  Harness  Made  Here. 

The  first  harness  made  in  Fond  du  Lac  county  was  by  Lyman 
Bishop.  He  drove  stage  to  Milwaukee  to  buy  the  material  and 
brought  it  back  with  him.  He  worked  in  an  attic  room  at  Peebles, 
below  Taycheedah.  and  sold  them  so  readily  that  he  continued  there 
about  a  year.  At  this  time  one  could  not  go  to  Milwaukee  or  Chicago 
and  buy  ready  made  harness,  this  practice  not  coming  in  until  war 
time  when  the  demand  was  great  and  harness  makers  hard  to  find. 
The  demand  by  the  blockade  runners  was  so  heavy  that  immense 
shops  were  started  at  the  east  and  harness  makers  not  in  the  arm}^, 
went  there.  There  was  one  shop  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  that  worked  450 
men  on  harness  for  the  south,  ordered  by  blockade  runners,  and  this 
shop  was  but  one  of  many.  The  price  of  harness  leather  was  very 
high.  ]\ir.  Bishop  mo\-ed  his  appliances  to  Fond  du  Lac  in  1850, 
after  building  his  shop  at  Main  and  Third  streets,  and  continued  it 
until  his  death. 


130  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Early  Theatre  Methods. 

Theatre  methods  were  quite  different  in  early  times  when 
theatres  played  in  Darling's  and  Ward  &  Windecker's  hall.  A  one 
night  or  even  a  one  week  stand  would  have  been  looked  upon  as 
ridiculous.  Langrische  &  Atwater,  G.  J.  Adams  and  others  came  to 
stay  as  long  as  they  could  make  it  pay,  which  was  generally  two 
weeks  to  a  month.  The  plays  presented  were  seldom  new  ones,  the 
people  being  satisfied  with  Shakespeare.  Scott,  Kalzefal  and  other 
old  timers,  and  a  farce  must  always  end  the  night's  performance.  Mid- 
night was  the  hour  for  people  to  get  home  from  the  theatre.  And 
the  Yankee  character  was  quite  dift'erent  from  the  "Josh  Whitcomb" 
of  today.  The  Yankee  drawl  and  the  Yankee  trick  belonged  to  the 
specialist  like  "Yankee  Miller,"  "Yankee  Robinson,"  etc.,  the  balance 
of  the  company  having  little  to  do.  The  Yankee  character  of  that 
day  is  not  here  now.  And  the  minstrel  show  was  different.  At  that 
time  the  minstrel  show  was  mainly  minstrelsy.  Singing  and  dancing, 
banjo  playing  and  repartee  by  the  end  men,  made  up  the  performance. 
Dick  Sliter,  Tom  Emerson,  Tom  Baker  and  others  of  the  old  timers, 
would  have  scorned  the  foolish  attempts  at  fun  in  the  negro  per- 
formance of  today. 


A  Holland  Dutch  Windmill. 

Fond  du  Lac  at  one  time  had  a  windmill,  not  of  the  modern 
species,  but  one  of  the  old  Holland  Dutch  sort,  with  long  arms  and 
sails  such  as  Don  Quixote  and  Sancho  Panza  fought  for  the  honor 
of  Don's  Dukina  del  Tobaso.  The  Fond  du  Lac  specimen  was  never 
fought  much  even  by  the  grain  it  was  expected  to  grind.  It  may 
have  run  some  but  very  few  ever  saw  it  going.  It  was  located  at  the 
southwest  corner  of  Western  Avenue  and  Oak  streets,  and  near  the 
Western  Avenue  bridge.  It  was  built  and  equipped  by  John  Cava- 
nagh,  but  not  being  efficient  it  was  soon  taken  down  and  the  premises 
used  by  him  as  a  general  cooper  shop.  Mr.  Cavanagh  is  still  with  us 
and  makes  cisterns  at  his  shop  on  upper  Main  street.  He  once  had 
a  shop  on  West  Second  street,  where  he  bought  pork  for  two  or  three 
cents  a  pound,  some  of  which  was  packed,  some  tried  into  lard,  spare 
ribs  sold  for  one-half  cent  a  pound  and  the  rough  grease  made  into 
soap. 


Injury  of  Edward  Pier. 

It  has  probably  been  forgotten  by  the  older  people  and  not 
known  to  the  younger,  that  Edward  Pier  met  with  a  painful  accident 
three  years  before  his  death,  and  it  was  believed  by  the  family  that 
it  hastened  his  death.  Riding  in  a  two  seat  buggy  on  Western 
Avenue,  near  the  five  points,  the  rear  seat  of  the  buggy  seems  not  to 
have  been  fastened,  tipped  over  backward  and  threw  Mr.  Pier  into 
the  street,  seriously  injuring  his  spine  and  shoulders.  He  was  laid 
up  with  the  injury  a  long  time,  but  finally  got  around  though  not  as 
active  as  before. 


PHYSICIANS  AND  SURGEONS 


Doctors  Who  Came  to  the  County  in  Early  Days  and  Those  Here 

Now,   with   Personal   Characteristics   of   Some 

of  Them. 


People  generally  expect  much  of  the  physician.  Who  has  not 
heard  the  remark  that  if  the  doctor  understood  his  business  he  could 
cure  all  ailments  of  his  suffering  patients.  These  people,  many  of 
them  quite  intelligent,  seem  not  to  remember  that  the  human  system 
is  an  exceedingly  complicated  machine ;  one  far  more  intricate  than 
anything  human  hands  can  build  or  the  mind  contrive,  and  subject  to 
complications  beyond  the  most  active  imagination.  The  physician 
himself  is  often  unable  to  understand  results  largely  because  he  is 
left  in  the  dark  relative  to  the  private  or  inner  life  of  his  patient.  He 
cannot  penetrate  the  private  character  and  discover  the  many  little 
things  hidden  there,  any  one  of  which  may  give  activity  to  numerous 
lesions,  wholly  different  in  different  individuals.  In  other  words, 
no  two  persons  are  exactly  alike,  nor  do  the  same  troubles  run 
exactly  the  same  course  in  any  two  patients,  or  who  need  the  same 
remedies  in  the  treatment  of  their  maladies.  One  class  of  patients 
may  be  of  strong  bilious  temperament,  another  class  the  opposite  in 
lymphatic  and  still  another  in  the  sanguine  or  nervous.  Some  are 
nervous  and  flighty,  others  are  peaceful  and  quiet,  with  peculiarities 
of  disposition   and   inherited  troubles   almost   numberless. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  conditions  which  no  one,  not  even  the 
physician  can  always  understand  or  successfully  combat.  Many 
things  which  the  doctor  ought  to  know  are  hidden  from  him  bv  the 
patient  and  he  must  get  at  the  truth  as  best  he  can,  if  he  gets  it  at  all. 
And  besides  these  many  complications  is  the  fact  that  the  patient 
is  not  always  loyal  to  the  doctor.  Too  often  orders  are  not  obeyed, 
resulting  in  probable  injury  to  the  patient  and  disgust  and  disappoint- 
ment to  his  physician. 

Medicine  is  not  an  exact  science  and  never  can  be,  and  the 
physician  can  only  make  use  of  the  best  means  at  his  disposal,  based 
upon  his  best  judgment.  Friends  of  the  different  schools  of  practice 
claim  a  great  deal  for  them,  yet  those  who  indorse  them  must  all  meet 
the  same  physical  and  professional  tangles.  The  doctor's  treatment 
niay  result  quite  satisfactorily  and  it  may  result  disastrously,  with 
little  knowledge  on  his  part  of  why  it  is  so,  in  either  event.  He  can 
only  use  the  best  means  his  school  or  his  best  judgment  gives  him 
and  abide  results. 

Experience  a  Wonderful   School. 

Experience  is  a  wonderful  school  and  in  the  last  half  century  the 
physicians  and  surgeons  have  learned  some  interesting  and  important 


132  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

lessons.  They  have  becoir.e  familiar  with  diseases  and  pathological 
conditions  and  learned  methods  of  treatment  that  were  practically 
unknown  fifty  years  ago.  Bright's  disease  of  the  kidneys,  diphtheria, 
appendicitis,  tuberculosis  except  as  recognized  in  consumption  of 
the  lungs,  and  operation  for  tumors,  now  so  frequently  resorted  to, 
were  almost  unknown  and  if  the  old  physicians  and  surgeons  of  fifty 
years  ago  could  return  to  their  practice  now  they  would  be  almost 
powerless  to  combat  the  new  conditions  they  would  meet. 
Wonderful  progress  has  been  made  in  surgery,  and  the  remedies  used 
in  the  treatment  of  diseases  are  now  in  the  forms  of  alkaloids,  tablets 
and  refined  tinctures,  minimizing  the  dose  to  the  extent  that  it  is  no 
longer  necessary  to  use  a  tablespoon  or  teacup  in  the  administration 
of  a  remedy.  Bleeding,  blisters,  cupping,  vomits  and  some  other  old 
heathen  methods  are  almost  wholly  eliminated  from  the  doctor's 
modes  of  cure.  Homeopathic,  hydropathic  and  electric  systems  have 
made  great  progress,  while  osteopathy  and  christian  science  have  been 
known  and  practiced,  but  a  very  few  years.  The  text  books  used  in 
the  medical  colleges  fifty  years  ago  are  now  curiosities  and  the 
modern  doctor,  glancing  through  them,  wonders  at  the  crude  methods 
of  cure. 

What  of  the  Next  Half  Century. 

The  advancement  made  especially  in  materia  medica  and  diag- 
nosis, which  the  practicing  physician  notes  almost  every  day,  causes 
him  to  wonder  what  the  situation  will  be  at  the  end  of  another  half 
century.  With  the  four  years'  course  of  training  now  required  by  all 
reputable  medical  schools,  the  remarkable  chemical  knowledge  dis- 
played in  the  preparation  of  remedies,  the  great  care  and  discrimina- 
tion in  the  use  of  them,  and  the  acuteness  of  perception  in  diagnosis, 
ought  at  least  to  shorten  the  suffering  and  delay  the  ravages  of  death 
in  a  marked  degree  as  compared  with  the  present.  Fifty  years  more 
added  to  the  past,  ought  to  bring  wonderful  results  and  be  a  lasting 
benefit  to  the  race. 

Physicians  of  Fifty  Years  Ago. 

Of  the  physicians  here  fifty  years  ago,  all  are  dead.  In  fact  the 
list  seems  not  to  have  been  made  up  of  long  lived  rhen.  Dr.  Darling, 
Dr.  Adams,  Dr.  Walker  and  possibly  Dr.  T.  S.  Wright,  may  have 
reached  70  years,  but  not  much  beyond  the  three  score  and  ten  of  the 
Scriptures.  Following  is  the  list  of  Fond  du  Lac  doctors  from  the 
earliest  arrival  to  the  present  time.  Only  those  who  have  compiled 
such  lists  can  realize  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered.  There  may 
be  a  few  names  omitted,  but  the  list  is  as  complete  as  it  is  possible 
to  get  it  at  this  time : 

Resident  Physicians  in  1850. 

Dr.  Adams.  Dr.   Howard.  Dr.  H.  L.  Wilklns. 

Dr.  Babcock.  Dr.  Pantillon.  Dr.  T.  S.  Wright. 

Dr.  Darling.  Dr.  Tallmadge.  Dr.  O.  S.  Wright. 

Dr.  Galloway.  Di-.  Walker. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


133 


Dr.  J.  O.  Ackerman. 
Dr.  E.  C.  Allard. 
Dr.  E.  E.  Atkins. 
Dr.  P.  M.  Baker. 
Dr.  E.  B.  Beeson. 
Dr.  C.  A.   Beebe. 
Dr.  F.  H.  Bell. 
Dr.  L.  A.  Bishop. 
Dr.  G.   C.   Bowe. 
Dr.  G.  T.  Boyd. 
Dr.  S.  S.  Bowers. 
Dr.  G.  N.  Brazeau. 
Dr.  E.   J.  Breitzman. 
Dr.  Elliott   Brown. 
Dr.  Cantillon. 
Dr.  Amazi   Gary. 
Di'.  Carolin. 
Dr.  J.   P.   Connell. 
Dr.  F.  E.  Donaldson. 
Dr.  H.   B.    Dale. 
Dr.  K.  L.  DeSombre. 
Dr.  A.  F.  Deveraux. 
Dr.  Dixon. 
Dr.  E.  F.  Dodge. 
Dr.  L.  Eudemiller. 


From  1848  to  the  Present  Time. 

Dr.  F.  L.  Foster. 
Dr.  B.  E.  Gifford. 
Dr.  A.  C.  Gibson. 
Dr.  S.  E.  Gavin. 
Dr.  E.   L.   Griffin. 
Dr.  E.  Gray. 
Dr.  L.   P.   Hinn. 
Dr.  Hancker. 
Dr.  B.   Holmes. 
Dr.  W.  B.  Hendricks. 
Dr.  W.  H.  Jenny. 
Dr.  Morritz   Krembs. 
Dr.  S.  A.  Krumme. 
Dr.  Lilly. 

Dr.  H.  B.  Lindley. 
Dr.  A.  Linsenmeyer. 
Dr.  P.    E.    Langdon. 
Dr.  G.   B.  McKnight. 
Dr.  G.  T.  McDoiigall. 
Dr.  J.  H  McNeef* 
Dr.   T.  F.  Mayham. 
Dr.  S.  L.  Marston. 
Dr.  J.  G.  Miller. 
Dr.  G.  V.  Mears. 
Dr.  Wm.  Minahan. 


Dr.  J. 
Dr.  E. 
Dr.  E. 
Dr.  F. 
Dr.  C. 
Dr.  L. 
Dr.  G. 
Dr.  G. 
Dr.  G. 
Dr.  E. 
Dr.  F. 


0.   Ackerman. 
C.  Allard. 
E.  Atkins. 
M.  Baker. 
A.  Beebe. 
A.    Bishop. 
C.  Bowe. 
T.  Boyd. 
N.  Brazeau. 
J.   Breitzman, 
L.  Foster. 


Now  in  Practice  Here, 

Dr.  .J.    P.    Connell. 
Dr.  S.  E.  Gavin. 
Dr.  L.  P.  Hinn. 
Dr.   B.   Holmes. 
Dr.  S.  A.  Krumme. 
Dr.  G.  B.  McKnight. 
Dr.  Kehl. 

Dr.  G.  T.  McDougall. 
Dr.  J.    H.    McNeel. 
Dr.  T.    F.   Mayham. 
Dr.  G.  V.  Mears. 


Dr. 

F.   H.  Moll. 

Dr. 

Nye. 

Dr. 

C.  C.  Olmsted. 

Dr. 

Ogden. 

Dr. 

T.   J.   Patchen. 

Dr. 

U.  R.  Patchen. 

Dr. 

R.  A.  Palmer. 

Dr. 

S.  G.  Pickett. 

Dr. 

A.  J.  Pullen. 

Dr. 

D.  A.  Raymond, 

Dr. 

Flora  A.  Read. 

Dr. 

F.  J.  Richter. 

Dr. 

M.  T.  Richie. 

Dr. 

R.   W.   Root. 

Dr. 

G.    T.    Scheib. 

Dr. 

T.  J.  Scheube. 

Dr. 

A.  Smead. 

Dr. 

S.    S.    Stack. 

Dr. 

Henry  Twohig. 

Dr. 

Wm.  Wiley. 

Dr. 

F.  S.  Wiley. 

Dr. 

W.  B.  Wilson. 

Dr. 

F.  A.  Wright. 

Dr. 

D.  B.  Wyatt. 

Dr. 

John  D.  Wyatt. 

Dr.  Wm.    Minahan. 
Dr.  R.   A.   Palmer. 
Dr.     Flora  A.  Read. 
Dr.  Pillsbury. 
Dr.  L.  J.  Rhoades. 
Dr.  G.   F.    Scheib. 
Dr.  Henry  Twohig. 
Dr.  F.  S.  Wiley. 
Dr.  F.  A.  Wright. 
Dr.  D.  B.  Wyatt. 


Dr.  Mason  C.  Darling. 

Dr.  Mason  C.  Darling  is  conceded  by  all  who  knew  him  personally 
and  by  reputation,  to  have  been  a  man  above  the  average.  Politically 
he  served  the  people  in  every  grade  of  usefulness  from  ditch  digger 
to  the  halls  of  congress.  Professionally  his  work  showed  he  had  few 
superiors  in  medicine  and  surgery,  and'  as  a  manager  of  public  enter- 
prises he  was  a  genius.  Fond  du  Lac  owes  so  much  to  Dr.  Darling 
for  the  proud  position  it  holds  in  the  state  that  its  people  would  be 
in  one  sense  justified  in  canonizing  his  memory.  We  speak  of  that 
which  we  know  from  a  long  personal  acquaintance,  when  we  say  he 
was  a  good  man,  an  honest,  honorable  man.  His  ability  to  adapt 
himself  to  circumstances  is  shown  by  an  incident  in  his  surgical  ex- 
perience. 


134  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

While  on  his  way  from  Sheboygan  in  1838,  while  coming  here, 
he  found  a  man  badly  frozen,  and  gangrene  having  set  in  it  became 
necessary  to  amputate  a  hand  or  foot,  it  is  not  now  remembered 
which,  and  no  amputating  instruments  or  even  a  proper  knife  being 
obtainable,  he  directed  a  blacksmith  how  to  make  a  suitable  knife  and 
sharpened  it  on  a  grindstone,  whetstone  and  razor  strop.  A  tendon 
hook  was  made  of  a  table  fork,  common  saw  was  used  for  a  surgical 
saw,  and  after  the  amputation  was  complete  the  wound  was  closed 
with  a  common  needle  and  thread  and  the  patient  made  a  rapid  re- 
covery. The  knife  used  is  now  in  possession  of  Dr.  John  Darling, 
of  St.  Paul,  grandson  of  Dr.  Darling. 

He  was  a  native  of  Amherst,  Mass.,  and  came  west  in  1838  in 
pursuit  of  health,  being  an  invalid  on  a  mattress  when  he  started. 
He  gained  rapidly,  stayed  here  and  became  a  well  man.  Besides  being 
a  graduate  in  medicine  and  surgery.  Dr.  Darling  had  more  than  the 
ordinary  capacity  of  men  in  politics  and  the  general  affairs  of  life. 
He  was  our  first  member  of  congress  under  the  state  government, 
and  at  different  times  was  sought  for  by  his  fellow  citizens  for  official 
positions  of  almost  every  grade.  He  left  here  in  1864,  it  is  said 
against  his  will,  to  reside  in  Chicago,  but  had  he  lived  he  w^ould  have 
returned.  He  died  in  December,  1866,  and  his  remains  were  brought 
back  for  interment  in  Rienzi. 

Dr.   W.   H.   Walker. 

Dr.  W.  H.  Walker  was  the  next  in  the  line  of  physicians  to 
locate  in  Fond  du  Lac.  In  March  of  1847,  ^^-  Walker  graduated  from 
the  Cleveland  Medical  College,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  immediately 
started  for  Wisconsin,  landing  at  Sheboygan,  thence  to  Fond  du  Lac. 
The  first  nights  in  their  new  home  Mrs.  Walker  bunked  in  the  old 
Fond  du  Lac  House  and  the  doctor  sought  sleeping  quarters  in  sheds 
on  hay.  These  were  poor  prospects  for  a  newly  graduated  and  wedded 
doctor,  but  bravery  and  hard  work  gave  success.*  The  building  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Main  and  Fifth  streets,  now  a  hotel,  was  erected 
by  Dr.  Walker,  the  lumber  for  it  being  taken  from  a  raft  in  the  river 
and  dried  by  turning  the  boards  over  in  the  sun  from  day  to  day.  At 
this  date,  March,  1905,  Mrs.  Walker  is  still  a  resident  of  the  city,  at  the 
corner  of  West  Second  and  Union  streets.  Dr.  Walker  died  some 
years  ago. 

Doctor,  Druggist  and  Missionary. 

Dr.  T.  P.  Bingham  was  said  by  some  to  be  the  first  doctor  and 
the  first  druggist  as  well  as  being  among  the  early  missionary  preach- 
ers in  Fond  du  Lac.  He  opened  an  office  at  Green  Bay  in  1842,  and 
found  his  way  to  Fond  du  Lac  in  1846.  He  made  periodical  journeys 
from  Green  Bay  to  Fond  du  Lac,  stopping  on  the  way  at  Stockbridge, 
Brothertown,  Ball's  corners,  Pequot  Village  and  Taycheedah,  where 
the  Indians  and  white  folks  were  doctored  soul  and  body.  Dr.  Bing- 
ham had  a  corner  in  Clock  &  Weikert's  store  in  one  of  the  rooms  of 
the  old  Fond  du  Lac  House,  in  which  he  kept  a  few  bottles,  boxes 

*It  may  be  interesting  to  many  to  know  that  Dr.  Walker  officiated  at  tlie  boruing  of  our 
present  Dr.  Burns  of  Oakfield. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT,  135 

and  packages,  containing  turpentine,  camphor,  castor  oil,  opodildoc, 
soda,  salts,  pills,  etc.,  styled  the  drug  store.  What  became  of  Dr. 
Bingham's  drug  store  will  be  told  when  we  come  to  speak  of  that 
part  of  business.  The  fact  seems  to  be  that  the  doctor  preferred 
preaching  to  doctoring,  the  cure  of  souls  to  the  cure  of  bodies  and 
therefore  never  became  noted  in  the  profession.  That  he  was  a  regu- 
larly graduated  physician  seems  to  be  doubted. 

A  Noted  Doctor. 

Dr.  D.  A.  Raymond  was  doubtless  the  most  noted  physician 
located  in  Fond  du  Lac  since  the  half  century  period.  He  came  from 
northern  New  York  and  was  pretty  well  known  in  that  state.  His 
genial  temperament  and  mirth  provoking  disposition,  together  with 
fine  ability  as  a  physician  and  surgeon,  made  him  very  popular  and 
his  office  was  seldom  empty  of  people  during  business  hours.  When 
Dr.  Raymond  retired  a  few  years  ago,  he  was  literally  worn  out  by 
professional  work.  He  died  at  the  home  of  a  daughter  in  Portland, 
Oregon,  a  few  years  ago,  and  his  remains  were  brought  here  and  laid 
to  rest  in  Rienzi. 

A  Popular  Physician. 

Dr.  E.  L.  Griffin  was  another  of  the  energetic  and  popular 
physicians  of  Fond  du  Lac.  Few  faces  were  more  familiar  in  the 
street  than  his.  He  was  noted  for  promptness  in  responding  to  calls, 
for  his  earnestness  in  the  care  of  his  patients  and  for  his  efforts  in 
promoting  any  good  and  moral  work.  Dr.  Griffin  seemingly  never 
skipped  an  opportunity  to  do  good.  When  Dr.  Wiley  went  to  Ripon 
during  the  war,  Dr.  Griffin  was  his  successor  here  in  Fond  du  Lac. 

Physican,  Druggist,  Banker. 

Dr.  T.  S.  Wright  came  to  Fond  du  Lac  in  1848,  not  only  as  a 
physician  and  surgeon,  but  as  a  druggist,  banker  and  agent  for  his 
father-in-law.  Gen.  Warner,  whose  investments  in  property  here  at 
that  time  were  large.  Most  of  the  long  row  of  brick  buildings  on 
the  west  side  of  Main  street,  between  First  and  Second  streets,  were 
among  the  buildings  erected  by  Gen.  Warner  and  Dr.  Wright.  The 
surgeon  mainly  relied  upon  for  some  years  after  his  arrival  here  was 
Dr.  T.  S.  Wright.  He  had  a  drug  store  for  some  years  before  his 
return  to  the  east  about  1882  and  died  a  few  years  later.  The  bank 
of  Darling,  Wright  &  Co.,  was  the  principal  bank  here  from  1849 
until  the  opening  of  the  Bank  of  the  Northwest,  now  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank,  in   1855. 

Dr.  O.  S.  ^^^right  was  also  a  physician  and  druggist,  but  was  not 
a  relative  of  Dr.  T.  S.  Wright.  He  was  popular  in  the  community, 
but  remained  here  only  a  few  years.  The  store  was  on  nearly  the 
same  ground  that  the  Huber  Bros.'  store  of  today  is  located,  so  there 
has  been  a  drug  store  there  almost  from  the  beginning. 

Dr.  Patchen  a  Remarkable  Physician. 

Dr.  T.  J.  Patchen  was  in  some  respects  the  most  remarkable 
physician  Fond  du  Lac  has  ever  had.     Coming  here  in  1855,  he  found 


136  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

the  homeopathic  field  ahiiost  wholly  uncultivated.  He  lectured, 
taught,  talked  and  drilled  the  people  in  the  principles  of  his  school  of 
medicine.  He  was  a  teacher  and  wanted  the  people  to  know  things, 
not  guess  at  them,  and  so  built  up  and  for  many  years  sustained  a 
remarkably  large  practice.  His  manner  was  so  cherry  that  he  was 
always  welcomed  to  the  sick  room.  He  was  a  thorough  temperance 
man  and  never  failed  to  take  hold  vigorously  of  any  movement  that 
promised  to  help  the  cause.  He  died  in  Florida  but  his  remains  were 
brought  home  and  lie  in  Rienzi. 

Other  Noted  Doctors. 

Dr.  Wm.  Wiley,  Dr.  S.  S.  Bowers,  Dr.  E.  F.  Dodge  and  Dr.  E. 
Gray,  were  all  noted  doctors  of  their  time.  They  were  highly  educated 
in  the  profession  and  were  frequently  called  in  consultations  in 
dangerous  cases.  Dr.  Wiley  was  in  Ripon  ,a  few  years  but  returned 
to  Fond  du  Lac  and  died  here.  Drs.  Bowers  and  Dodge  also  died 
here.     Dr.  Gray  died  in  Colorado. 

Dr.  Babcock  was  an  early  arrival  here,  coming  from  Ohio,  coming 
so  soon  after  Dr.  Darling  as  to  be  held  as  the  first,  but  this  was  an 
error.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  bright,  active  man,  one  to  whom 
Dr.  Darling  took  a  special  liking  and  was  a  sort  of  protege.  When 
Dr.  Darling  found  it  difficult  to  attend  a  case,  which  he  sometimes 
did  because  of  his  manifold  duties.  Dr.  Babcock  was  sent  with  con- 
fidence. He  was  a  pioneer  doctor,  second  only  to  Dr.  DarHng,  but 
by  no  means  a  quack.  He  remained  here  but  two  or  three  years  and 
then  disappeared  and  left  no  remembrance  that  has  come  down  to 
our  time.  The  cause  of  his  going  is  unknown,  as  he  was  well  liked 
by  the  settlers. 

Dr.  John  Pantillon  was  the  first  homeopathic  physician  here, 
and  of  course  had  difficult  work  to  make  the  people  of  this  frontier 
town  believe  in  the  efficacy  of  the  little  pills  then  generally  used  by 
practitioners  of  his  school.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  force  of 
character  and  worked  hard  to  introduce  his  system.  He  left  here 
after  a  few  years  and  soon  after  died. 

Ripon  Physicians. 

From  the  beginning  Ripon  has  had  its  full  share  of  noted  and 
successful  doctors,  but  not  one  has  reached  the  half  century  of  prac- 
tice.    Following  is  the  list  of  those  located  there  from  1853  to  1903: 

Dr.  H.  L.  Barnes.  Dr.  Phelps.  Dr.  Taylor. 

Dr.  E.  C.  Barnes.  Dr.   J.  Rogers.*  Dr.   J.  S.  Foat. 

Dr.  Butler.  Dr.  Reynolds.*  Dr.  W.   A.   Gorden. — 

Dr.  Carnahan.*  Dr.  B.   Seliallern.  Dr.  Storrs    Hall.* 

Dr.  A.   Everhard.*  Dr.  0.  Schallern.  Dr.  S.  S.  Hall. 

Dr.  F.    A.    Everhard.  Dr.  R.   Schallern.*  Dr.  A.    W.    Hewitt.* 

Dr.  Hendricks.—  Dr.  G.  R.  Shaw.*  Dr.  Wm.    Wiley.* 

Dr.  A.   Mitchell.  Dr.  F.   L.   Shepard.— 


*Dead.    —Moved  away. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  137 

Of  the  twenty-two  located  there  during  the  half  century,  nine 
have  died  and  but  few  moved  away,  which  indicates  that  it  is  a 
satisfactory  place  to  stay  when  one  gets  there. 

Ripon  did  not  have  a  graduated  physician  practicing  there  until 
1853.  So  the  half  century  of  medicine  in  that  city  carries  it  to  1903, 
but  during  the  years  since  1853  Ripon  has  had  some  remarkably  able 
and  popular  doctors. 

Dr.  J.  Rodgers  was  the  first  graduated  physician  and  surgeon 
to  locate  there,  which  was  in  1853.  He  continued  in  active  and  suc- 
cessful practice  until  his  death  a  few  years  ago. 

Dr.  Aaron  Everhard  was  one  of  the  most  successful  physicians 
and  popular  citizens  yet  located  at  Ripon,  having  been  nine  times 
elected  mayor  of  the  city  between  the  years  1871  and  1885.  He  was 
postmaster  under  Cleveland's  administration  and  his  advice  was  often 
sought  in  public  affairs.  He  located  at  St.  Marie,  near  Princeton,  in 
1850,  and  in  Ripon  in  1856  and  continued  there  until  his  death  in  1892. 

Dr.  Henry  L.  Barnes  has  from  the  beginning  of  his  professional 
career  been  one  of  the  bright,  active  and  successful  ph3'sicians  and 
surgeons  at  Ripon.  He  came  to  Wisconsin  in  1846,  settled  at  Ripon, 
was  graduated  from  the  Cleveland  Medical  College  in  1858.  He 
served  with  distinction  in  the  war  as  surgeon  in  the  Twenty-first 
Wisconsin.  He  began  practice  in  Ripon  in  1858  and  was  the  fourth 
physician  to  locate  there.  He  is  also  an  active  and  valued  citizen  in 
public  affairs. 

Dr.  W.  A.  Gordon  was  one  of  the  war  surgeons  and  located  at 
Ripon  in  1866,  but  on  account  of  poor  health  went  to  California  after 
a  few  5^ears,  leaving  a  large  circle  of  friends. 

Dr.  A.  W.  Hewitt  settled  in  Ripon  in  1855  ^^^^  was  the  third 
physician  to  locate  there.  Some  years  later  he  went  to  Minnesota, 
where  he  died  a  few  years  ago. 

Dr.  Rainer  Schallern,  father  of  Drs.  Bruno  and  Ottmar  Schallern, 
two  of  Ripon's  popular  physicians,  was  a  Belgian,  noted  in  his  native 
country  as  well  as  this,  for  his  great  scientific  attainments.  In  nau- 
tical science  he  had  few  equals. 

Dr.  Storrs  Hall  from  185 1  was  a  resident  of  Rosendale,  but 
retired  from  practice  at  the  age  of  90  and  became  a  member  of  the 
household  of  his  son.  Dr.  Sidney  Storrs  Hall,  in  Ripon.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  the  medical  department  of  Yale.  For  more  than  fifty 
years  Dr.  Hall  was  prominent  not  only  in  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion, but  also  in  public  affairs  of  the  county  and  especially  of  Ripon 
College.     He  died  a  few  months  ago. 

Rosendale  Physicians. 

Dr.  A.  H.  Bowe  was  the  pioneer  doctor  at  Rosendale,  locating 
there  in  1847.  He  was  born  in  1813  and  graduated  in  medicine  at 
Baltimore,  Md.  He  continued  in  active  practice  until  his  death  a 
few  years  ago. 

Dr.  Storrs  Hall  was  another  pioneer.  Graduated  from  the 
medical  department  of  Yale,  located  at  Rosendale  in  1854.     S.  S.  Hall, 


138 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


how  practicing  at  Ripon,  first  located  at  Rosendale.     The  full  list  of 
Rosendale  doctors  from  the  beginning-  has  been  as  follows : 

Dr.  A.  H.  Bowe.*  Dr.  Storrs   Hall.*  Dr.  G.  B.  McKnight. — 

Dr.  De  Voe.  Dr.  S.   S.  Hall.—  Dr.  J.  W.  Powell. 

Dr.   Dunning. —  Dr.  J.   C.   LePevre. —  Dr.  Palmer. — 


Dr.  Hughes. — 
Dr.  Jones. — 


Eldorado  Mills. 

Dr.  Randall.— 
Dr.  Morse. — 


Dr.  Peterson.- 


Oakfield — Resident  Physicians. 

Dr.  J.  W.  Burns.  Dr.  Sherman  Edwards.       Dr.  Chas.   H.   Moore. 

Dr.  W.  S.  Alexander. 

Oakfield — Former  Resident  Doctors. 


Dr.  C.    E.    Armstrong. 
Dr.  Henry   S.  Beeson. 
Dr.  S.  S.  Bishop. 
Dr.  Brice   Dille. 
Dr.  W.  C.  Duncan. 
Dr.  G.  B.  Durand. 


Dr.  W.  H.  Fisher. 
Dr.  Gibson. 
Dr.  Hunter. 
Dr.  Wm.   Moore. 
Dr.  Wm.  W.  Moore. 
Dr.  E.  J.  Orvis. 

Brandon. 


Dr.  S.   G.  Pickett. 
Dr.  Geo.   Pickett. 
Dr.  J.  F.  Pritchard. 
Dr.  C.  W.  Voorus. 
Dr.  Weaver. 


Dr.  J.  D.  Root.  Dr.  Thayer.  Dr.  Cody. 

Dr.  C.  D.  Shuart.  Dr.  Gee.  Dr.  Safford. 

Dr.  Dyer.  Dr.  Turner.  Dr.  F.  E.  Shaykatt. 

Dr.     Root    has    been    in     Brandon     nearly    twenty    years,     Dr. 
Shaykatt  nearly  as  long.  ' 

Waupun  City. 
The   physicians   who   have   resided    in    that   part   of   Waupun   in 
Fond  du  Lac  county  from  the  beginning  are : 

Dr.  P.  D.  Moore.  Dr.  Eypers.*  Dr.  Fisher  and  wife. — 

Dr.   Randall. —  Dr.  Osmun.* 

Dr.  Took.*  Dr.  Osborne. 

Dr.  M.  W.  Larrabee,  Dr.  M.  P.  Smith  and  Dr.  W.  S.  Blunt  are 
the  physicians  now  residing  there,  in  Fond  du  Lac  county. 


Dr.  D.    W.    Moore. 

Dr.  Bowman.* 

Dr.  Hersha.* 

Dr.  J.  W.   Brown.* 

Dr.  Swayne.* 

Dr.  Butterfield.* 
Dr.    Moore    is    the 
physicians  of  Waupun. 
strong. 

Dr.  Eudemiller.* 
Dr.  P.  A.  Hoffman. 
Dr.  M.  A.  T.  Hoffman. 


In  Dodge  County. 

Dr.  Wadsworth.* 

Dr.  Harvey.* 

Dr.  Messer. — 

Dr.  Reed.— 

Dr.  W.   P.   Smith. 


Dr.  G.  B.  Durand. 

Dr.  G.   T.  von  Henzel. 

Dr.  D.   H.   Ballmeyer. 

Dr.  F.   T.   Clark. 

Dr.  J.  F.  Brown. 


only     surviving     member     of     the     pioneer 
He  is  not  in  practice  now,  but  is  rugged  and 


Campbellsport. 

Dr.  S.   L.   Marston. — 
Dr.  Orvis. — 
Dr.  Russell. 


Dr.  Weld. 

Dr.  Zimmerman. 


*Dead.       — Moved  away. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  139 

Dr.  S.  L.  Marston  was  the  first  physician  to  locate  at  Campbells- 
port.  He  went  there  in  the  early  fifties,  afterwards  moving  to 
Waucousta,  thence  to  Fond  du  Lac  and  finally  to  Hartford,  where 
he  now  resides. 

Dr.  Eudemiller  died  several  years  ago.  He  was  a  student  from 
the  office  of  Drs.  Gray  &  Wyatt. 

Lamartine. 

Dr.  Elliott  Brown  was  the  first  doctor  in  Lamartine,  coming 
there  in  1848.    He  moved  to  the  city  in  1877  and  died  in  1883. 

North  Fond  du  Lac. 

Dr.  A.  J.  Pullen.  Dr.  P.  J.  Calvy.  Dr.  J.    E.    Heraty.— 

St.  Cloud— Dr.  E.  P.  Crosy,  Dr.  C.  W.  Leonard,  Dr.  J.  Wald- 
schmidt. 

Calumet  Harbor— Dr.  E.  J.  Bumker,  Dr.  Vander  Horst. 

Empire — Dr.  Hanners,*  Dr.  Lyons. 

Eden — Dr.  P.  J.  Oliver,  Dr.  Vandervoort.* 

Dotyville — Dr.  Judson  Morse. 

Dundee — Dr.  John  O'Neill. 

Mt.  Calvary — Dr.  John  A.  Bassen. 

Johnsburg — Dr.  John  J.  Shoofs. 

Lamartine — Dr.  Emile  Roy,  Dr.  Elliott  Brown.* 

Fairwater — Dr.  Oliver  M.  Layton. 

Taycheedah— Dr.  Tallmadge,*  Dr.  Wm.  Wiley,*  Dr.  E.  J.  Breitz- 
man. 

New  Cassel — Dr.  R.  Zimmerman. 

Ladoga — Dr.  S.  R.  Randall   (not  in  practice.) 

Van  Dyne — Dr.  A.  B.  Hambeck.* 

Elmore — Dr.  Wm.  Hausman. 

Marytown — Dr.  L.  H.  Baldwin.* 

South  Byron — Dr.  W.  H.  Wilson   (retired). 

Medical  Organizations  in  Fond  du  Lac  County. 

RY     DR.     J.     W.     BURNS,     OAKFIELD. 

The  first  Medical  Society  in  this  county  was  organized  about  the 
year  1844  or  1845,  while  Wisconsin  was  yet  a  territory.  The  exact 
date  cannot  be  ascertained.  It  embraced  the  territory  now  covered  by 
the  counties  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Sheboygan  and  Calumet.  It  was  or- 
ganized in  Fond  du  Lac,  then  only  a  settlement.  Its  members  are 
all  dead.  Dr.  Brainard,  of  Sheboygan  county,  was  president,  and 
Dr.  Blodgett,  of  Calumet  county,  was  secretary.  This  society  was 
short  lived.  Embracing  but  few  members  scattered  over  a  wide  and 
unsettled   territory,   removals   and   deaths   soon   disintegrated   it. 

The  next  medical  organization  in  the  county  was  effected  in  the 
year  1853.  Just  fifteen  years  before  this  date,  in  1838,  the  first  medical 
gentleman  settled  in  the  county,  the  late  Dr.  Mason  C.  Darling. 
The  medical  organization  of  1853  was  called  the  "Medical  Association 

•Dead.       — Moved  away. 


140  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 

of  the  County  of  Fond  du  Lac."  Its  by-laws  and  constitution  are 
the  only  records  of  its  existence  which  are  now  extant  so  far  as  is 
known.  From  these  we  learn  that  the  object  of  the  society  was  to 
"elevate  the  standard  of  the  profession  by  the  diffusion  of  medical 
knowledge,  and  to  promote  unanimity  of  feeling  and  concert  of 
action  among  the  members  thereof."  The  by-laws  provided  for  two 
meetings  a  year.  This  association  after  the  lapse  of  a  year  or  two,  is 
found  to  disappear  from  history.  1  he  cause  of  its  going  out  and  the 
manner  of  its  extinction  is  mostly  conjectural. 

The  third  medical  society  in  the  county  was  organized  at 
Waupun  in  1866  and  was  known  as  the  "Northwestern  Medical 
Society,"  and  embraced  the  eastern  part  of  Green  Lake  county,  the 
western  part  of  Fond  du  Lac  county,  and  it  also  had  a  few  members 
from  Dodge  county.  Its  membership  reached  a  maximum  of  fifteen 
or  twenty.  It  held  its  meetings  twice  a  year.  Dr.  Storrs  Hall,  of 
Rosendale,  was  elected  president  and  regular  meetings  were  held  at 
Ripon,  Berlin  and  Waupun.  This  society  flourished  for  a  little  over 
a  year  when  it  also  became  extinct.  The  cause  of  its  demise  appears 
to  have  been  the  failure  of  its  members  to  attend  its  meetings. 

The  fourth  medical  society  in  the  county,  known  as  the  "Fond 
du  Lac  County  Medical  Society,"  was  organized  in  1868  and  flour- 
ished for  a  number  of  years.  Its  membership  was  large  and  included 
nearly  every  regular  practitioner  in  the  county,  and  for  many  years 
it  was  considered  one  of  the  best  county  medical  societies  in  the 
state.  Owing  to  lack  of  interest  and  small  attendance,  it  too,  like 
its  predecessors,  became  extinct. 

The  fifth  and  present  county  medical  society,  which  is  an  affllia- 
tion  with  the  Wisconsin  and  American  Medical  Associations,  was 
organized  about  two  years  ago,  and  includes  in  its  membership  a 
large  majority  of  the  legal  practitioners  of  medicine  in  the  county. 
Its  meetings  are  held  bi-monthly  in  the  city  of  Fond  du  Lac,  unless 
otherwise  agreed  upon  at  a  regular  meeting.  The  officers  for  the 
present  year  are : 

Flora  A.  Read,  secretary  and  treasurer. 

Several  times  in  the  past,  the  last  time  the  last  of  March,  1905, 
the  local  physicians  have  organized  to  promote  their  interests  in 
various  ways,  but  the  organizations  were  of  brief  duration,  some  of 
them  the  first  meeting  beinsf  the  last. 


The  First  National  Hotel. 

The  wood  building  in  which  the  First  National  Bank  first  did 
business  at  the  corner  of  Main  street  and  Forest  avenue,  is  still  in 
existence.  When  the  bank  decided  to  erect  its  present  building,  the 
old  one  was  sold  to  M.  Van  Dresar,  who  moved  it  to  the  southwest 
corner  of  Marr  and  Fourth  streets  and  it  became  the  main  part  of  the 
First  National  Hotel.  Since  then  the  name  has  been  changed  several 
times,  being  now  the  Tobin  House.  It  is  an  old  house,  one  of  the 
oldest  in  the  city.  John  Sewell  had  a  store  in  it  at  its  original  location 
in  1850. 


DENTISTS  AND  DENTISTRY 


Dentists  Who  Have  Practiced  Here  from  the  Beginning.     Wonder- 
ful Progress  Since  the  Days  of  Turnkeys 
and  Gold  Plate. 


Dentistry  as  practiced  now  differs  materially  from  that  in  the 
days  of  the  pioneers.  In  their  time  sets  of  teeth  were  wholly  upon 
gold  plate  and  the  teeth  were  soldered  on  it.  The  old  turnkeys  were 
mostly  used  for  drawing  teeth  and  many  of  the  appliances  now  so 
handy  in  the  dental  office  were  wholly  unknown.  Impressions  were 
taken  of  the  mouth  and  the  gold  plate  for  the  base  was  swedged  upon 
it,  a  good  fit,  such  as  we  now  get,  being  rarely  obtained.  W  hen  artisans 
discovered  how  to  work  hard  rubber,  it  was  soon  adopted  as  a  base 
for  teeth  and  it  is  still  in  use.  The  vulcanizer  melts  the  rubber  into 
the  mold  and  a  misfit  is  rare.  Some  years  later  porcelain  was  intro- 
duced as  a  base  for  teeth  but  was  not  a  success  and  is  now  rarely  seen. 
It  was  too  heavy  and  noisy  for  such  use  and  too  easily  broken.  In 
the  march  of  discovery  some  other  material  may  be  found  for  this 
use,  but  it  is  likely  to  be  long  before  rubber  is  displaced.  The  use  of 
anaesthetics  in  dentistry  has  been  a  matter  of  growth.  First 
chloroform  seemed  to  be  the  only  article,  but  the  danger  attending 
its  use  frightened  the  people  and  it  was  abandoned.  Then  came 
ether,  much  of  the  same  nature  but  far  less  dangerous,  and  then  gas 
was  introduced.  These  continued  in  use  until  cocaine  appeared  as  a 
local  anaesthetic,  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  the  muriate  of  cocaine 
has  been  in  use  ever  since.  Today  it  is  about  the  only  agent  used  for 
this  purpose  in  dentistry. 

In  the  olden  time  people  had  to  bear  their  burden  of  pain  as  best 
they  could ;  today  they  may  have  teeth  drawn  and  not  know  it. 
The  discoveries  in  dental  science  have  been  constant.  New  methods 
and  new  applications  of  the  science  have  come  rapidly. 

Dr.  L.  Kellogg  was  the  first  regular  dentist  in  Fond  du  Lac.  He 
came  here  in  1848  and  returned  to  Boston  some  time  in  the  fifties. 
While  here  he  erected  the  house  on  Main  street  opposite  Fifth,  now 
owned  and  occupied  by  Mrs.  DeSombre,  and  established  his  office 
in  the  front  room  up  stairs. 

Dr.  A.  L.  Hoyt  was  the  next  dentist  in  Fond  du  Lac,  and  follow- 
ing him  came  Dr.  J.  R.  Cole.  Both  these  men  remained  here  many 
years. 

Could  the  dentists  of  the  olden  times  return  here  now,  they 
would  be  surprised  as  to  processes  as  well  as  material  now  in  use. 
Thy  would  hardly  know  the  uses  of  some  of  the  instruments  and 
appliances.  They  would  doubtless  gaze  in  astonishment  at  the  bridge 
work,  inlaid  work  and  caps  now  in  use.  If  informed  that  modern 
dentists  had  taken  out  teeth,  filled  the  cavities  and  put  them  back  to 


142 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


Stay,  they  would  regard  it  as  a  prevarication  of  the  deepest  dye. 
Should  Dr.  Kellogg  return  to  Fond  du  Lac  now  and  take  an  order 
for  work  such  as  he  had  sometimes  taken  in  former  times,  he  would 
be  handicapped  in  attempting  to  do  it  in  a  modern  dental  office  by 
not  knowing  how  to  use  the  instruments  and  appliances  he  would 
find  there,  so  great  is  the  change. 

The  number  of  dentists  in  practice  has  largely  increased  in  the 
last  twenty-five  years,  due  mainly  to  the  fact  it  is  now  so  easy  to 
acquire  a  proper  mental  and  mechanical  equipment.  The  number  of 
dental  colleges  has  largely  increased  and  departments  added  to  all 
the  universities.  There  is  also  a  much  greater  demand  for  dental 
work.  In  former  times  most  people  went  to  the  dentists  only  when 
the  pain  was  no  longer  bearable,  but  now  the  teeth  are  closely 
watched  and  cared  for  to  the  end  that  they  may  be  retained  as  long 
as  possible.  An  increase  in  the  number  of  dentists  was  needed  and 
the  demand  has  been  met. 

Dentists  who  have  been  located  in   Fond  du   Lac  since   1850: 


C.   W.   Barnes. 
Henry   Bennett. 
J.   L.   Blish. 
C.   A.   Cheney. 
W.  A.  Chamberlain. 
L.  P.  Coleman. 
C.  E.   Dickinson. 
W.  F.  Doyle. 
Jesse  Garvin. 
Alliene   Gillet. 
H.  E.  Graves. 


T.   A.   Hardgrove. 
G.    A.    Hildreth. 
W.   W.   Johnson. 
J.  W.  Madden. 
Geo.  M.   Moon\ 
Andrew  Patchen. 
Will   Patchen. 
James   J.   Perry. 
J.  H.  Ridgeway. 
H.   T.   Sackett. 
R.  J.  Serwe. 


R.    W.    Sessions. 
Arthur  K.   Steen. 
W.   T.   Taylor. 
W.   E.  Tennant. 
C.  C.  Trowbridge. 
M.    E.   Underwood. 
J.   B.  Wade. 
S.  E.  Wade. 
W.  C.  Wise. 


In  Practice  Here  Now. 

G.  A.  Hildreth. 
J.   W.    Madden. 
Geo.    M.    Moore. 
J.   H.   Ridgeway. 
H.   T.   Sackett. 
R.  J.   Serwe. 


Arthur   K.    Steen. 
W.  T.  Taylor. 
W.  E.  Tennant. 
C.  C.  Trowbridge. 
W.   E.   Underwood. 
W.  C.  Wise. 


J.  L.  Blish. 
C.  A.  Cheney. 
W.  A.  Chamberlain. 
L.  P.  Coleman. 
Alliene  Gillet. 
T.  A.  Hardgrove. 
Dr.  H.  C.  Meusel. 
Dr.  H.  T.  Sackett  is  now  the  senior  practitioner  in  dentistry  in 
Fond  du  Lac  and  has  what  is  no  doubt  the  largest,  neatest  and  best 
equipped  dental  offices  in  this  part  of  the  state. 

Dr.  G.  A.  Hildreth  is  next  in  order  of  seniority  among  Fond  du 
Lac  dentists.    He  also  has  fine  rooms  and  a  large  practice. 

Next  in  seniority  are  Drs.  Wise.  Blish,  Trowbridge,  Gillett  and 
Cheney,  but  they  have  not  been  here  many  years. 

City  of  Ripen. 
The  earliest  dentists  in  Ripon,  all  of  them  since  1852,  were  Drs. 
J.  H.  Callendar,  C.  B.  Staples  and  Ed.  Dodge.     Following  is  the  full 

list: 

F.  F.  Barnes.  Luther  &  Lynch.  G.   B.    Shepherd. 

H.*  H.  Bush.  T.  G.  Luther.  C.   B.    Staples. 

J.   H.   Callender.  Storrs  A.  Hall.  Well  &  Marshall. 

L.  M.  Cleveland.  Patton  &  Clapp.  P.   A.  Well. 

Ed.   Doage.  W.  B.  Safford. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  143 

Now  in  Practice  There. 

F.  F.  Barnes.  L.  M.   Cleveland.  W.  B.  Safford. 

H.  H.  Bush.  Stons  A.  Hall.  P.  A.  Well. 

Dr.  T.  G.  Luther  was  in  practice  in  Ripon  many  years  and  in 
length    of  time  might  be  called  a  veteran.     He  was  a  fixture  there. 

City  of  Waupun, 

Following   is   the   full    list   of   dentists  'who   located   in    Waupun 
since  the  advent  there  of  Dr.  J.  B.  Wade,  afterwards  in  Fond  du  Lac: 
C.  Gage.  J.   Palmer.  H.  A.   Stiles. 

A.  H.  Johnston.  J.   Loomans.  Dr.  Thorp. 

E.  Jones.  Dr.  Perry.  J.  B.  Wade. 

M.   Lewis.  L.  C.   Stewart  T.  M.  Welch 

In  Practice  There  Now. 

A.  H.  Johnston.  J.    Loomans.  T.  M.  Welch. 

J.  Palmer.  L.  C.   Stewart. 

Brandon — H.  F.  Grantveldt. 

Campbellsport — J.  C.  Huecker,  P.  E.  Helmer. 

North  Fond  du  Lac — N.  W.  Emory. 

Oakfield— M.  B.  SpafTord. 

People  in  the  villages  of  the  county  frequently  have  the  services 
of  city  dentists  as  they  sometimes  visit  them  to  take  and  fill  orders 
for  dental  work. 

In  the  early  days  of  Fond  du  Lac,  before  the  coming  of  Dr. 
Kellogg,  it  is  said  that  Dr.  Darling,  Dr.  Walker,  Dr.  Babcock  and 
others  raised  aching  teeth  by  using  the  old  fashioned  turnkeys,  by 
the  application  of  which  the  tooth  or  the  head  must  come.  The  only 
dentistry  they  did  was  to  ease  pain  by  lifting  out  the  aching  teeth. 
The  work  done  now  is  somewhat  different. 


Francisco  on  a  Slab. 

One  morning  while  making  his  trip  north  on  Lake  Winnebago 
with  the  steamer  Menasha,  Peter  Hotaling  overtook  a  man  on  a  raft, 
and  taking  him  on  board  found  the  man  to  be  the  Spanish  barber 
named  Miguel  Francisco  de  Paula,  whom  everybody  at  Fond  du  Lac 
knew  as  Francisco,  and  his  raft  was  a  pine  slab.  When  asked  where 
he  was  going  and  what  he  meant  by  venturing  out  on  a  slab,  he  said 
he  was  bound  for  Oshkosh  and  that  the  whiskey  suggested  the  means 
of  getting  there.  His  pint  flask  was  nearly  empty  of  whiskey  and 
Francisco  was  full.  Most  of  his  life  had  been  spent  on  shipboard, 
so  the  water  had  few  terrors  for  him,  and  the  difference  between  a 
slab  and  a  boat  as  a  method  of  travel,  was  of  small  consequence. 
The  truth  no  doubt  was  that  the  whiskey  had  made  him  a  greater 
fool  than  he  was  generally.  Francisco  was  none  too  smart  at  any 
time. 


144  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

First  Job  Press  Here. 

The  Boston  Rnggles  Job  Press,  used  in  Beeson's  Job  Printing 
office  in  Fond  du  Lac  in  early  times,  had  a  curious  history  and  a 
provoking  end.  It  was  brought  from  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  by  the  Mil- 
waukee Sentinel  and  was  the  first  job  press  brought  to  Wisconsin. 
It  was  a  reversible  form  affair  and  a  sorry  thing  compared  to  present 
day  presses.  A  9  by  12  form  could  be  locked  on  it,  but  the  press  was 
not  strong  enough  to  print  anything  larger  than  a  note  sheet,  yet  in 
its  day  was  a  useful  press.  Mr.  Beeson  sold  it  to  Freeman  Sackett, 
who  took  it  to  Weyauwega.  Sackett  traded  it  to  Judge  Ogden,  of 
Waupaca.  Judge  Ogden  was  afterward  a  partner  in  a  foundry  and 
machine  shop  at  that  place,  and  one  day  in  1880,  A.  T.  Glaze  was 
wandering  through  the  premises  and  discovered  that  press  standing 
under  a  shed  among  old  iron  to  be  melted  down,  which  was  its  fate 
finally.  It  could  probably  have  been  bought  at  that  time  for  $5,  and 
why  it  did  not  come  into  Mr.  Glaze's  mind  to  buy  it  and  place  it  in 
the  rooms  of  the  State  Historical  Society,  surpasses  his  comprehen- 
sion. To  use  a  modern  expression,  he  has  felt  scores  of  times  like 
"kicking  himself;"  that  he  did  not  think  of  it.  When  it  did  enter  his 
mind  it  was  too  late.  As  the  old  press  stood  there  it  was  intact,  and 
Mr.  Glaze  felt  as  if  he  could  put  on  a  form  and  start  it  up  as  of  old. 
Surely  was  it  a  reminder  of  past  printing  office  days. 


Making  Sheet  Iron  Stoves. 

The  first  stoves  used  in  Fond  du  Lac  were  brought  here  over- 
land, ready  for  use  and  it  was  not  until  we  had  through  railroad 
transportation  to  Milwaukee  in  1857,  that  the  castings  were  brought 
and  sheet  iron  stoves  were  put  up  here.  In  the  fall  of  this  year, 
Stephen  Oberreich,  working  for  Kirkland  Gillet,  known  then  to 
everybody  as  "Deacon"  Gillet,  put  up  some  of  the  old  Acorn  stoves, 
the  best  stove  of  its  class  ever  made  here  or  elsewhere.  The  writer 
bought  one  of  them  and  used  it  with  great  satisfaction  for  nearly 
twenty  years.  An  improved  Acorn  came  into  market  some  years 
later,  but  they  were  an  improvement  in  the  wrong  direction — they 
were  inferior  to  the  old.  But  the  old  Acorn  was  the  first  stove  with 
cast  top  and  bottom  and  sheet  iron  between,  that  were  put  up  here. 
They  were  for  wood,  as  we  did  not  have  coal  here  then  except  at  a 
very  high  price. 


The  Wide  Awakes  of  i860. 
This  political  organization  in  the  campaign  of  i860,  was  the 
brightest  and  most  efficient  in  the  political  history  of  this  country. 
It  sprung  into  existence  as  if  by  magic.  It  developed  without  effort. 
It  did  not  need  to  be  pushed — it  pushed  itself.  The  Wide  Awakes  for 
Lincoln  and  Hamlin  were  wide  awake.  Almost  every  cross  roads 
village  had  its  turnout  and  the  boys  were  in  it  for  business  as  well  as 
fun.  The  republican  votes  could  be  ascertained  in  a  locality  by 
counting  the  Wide  Awakes  enrolled. 


THE  BENCH  AND  BAR 


The   Lawyers   and   Judges   of    Early    Days   and    Those    Here    Now. 

The  Peculiarities  of  Some  of  Them. 

Personal  Notes. 


It  is  doubtful  if  any  other  class  of  men  in  a  community,  in  pro- 
portion to  numbers,  have  as  much  influence  in  shaping  public  affairs, 
in  bringing  about  business  results  or  even  in  settling  social  conflicts 
as  the  lawyers.  They  are  usually  depended  upon  as  public  speakers 
on  general  topics  and  they  are  always  on  the  move  when  politics 
rage ;  they  come  to  the  rostrum  to  discuss  national,  state,  county  and 
municipal  affairs,  and  to  their  credit  be  it  said,  sometimes  religion. 
The  power  of  the  legal  profession  is  not  alone  in  the  court  room  or 
law  ofiice.  This  has  become  more  noticeable  of  late  years,  since 
lawyers  are  employed  in  shaping  private  as  well  as  public  affairs 
and  bringing  about  results  between  individuals  and  communities.  If 
one  wishes  something  done  that  he  does  not  wish  to  do  himself,  he 
seeks  the  lawyers  to  do  it  for  him,  with  the  result  that  there  are  many 
attorneys  whose  business  is  largely  of  this  nature  and  who  seldom 
appear  in  the  court  room,  but  wdio  do  a  large  and  profitable  business. 
That  some  leading  lawyers  decline  such  business  is  by  no  means  an 
indication  that  it  is  not  legitimate ;  and  that  a  lawyer's  name  does 
not  appear  frequently  on  the  court  calendar  is  not  an  indication  that 
he  is  not  a  successful  attorney  in  the  court  room. 

Four  Veteran  Survivors. 

The  writer  has  carefully  looked  up  matters  pertaining  to  the  bar 
of  Fond  du  Lac  county  during  the  half  century  from  1850  to  1900. 
The  lawyers  residing  here  during  this  period  were  all  personally 
known  to  me,  and  I  find  that  but  four  of  those  here  in  1850  remain 
alive.  They  are  Edward  S.  Bragg,  now  United  States  consul  general 
at  Hong  Kong,  China.  Jerre  Dobbs,  of  Ripon,  James  Coleman,  of 
Washington,  and  E.  L.  Browne,  of  AA^aupaca.  All  the  rest  have 
passed  to  the  other  shore. 

Alex.  W.  Stow,  the  first  chief  justice  of  our  state  supreme  court, 
lived  near  Taycheedah.  and  Lieut.  Gov.  S.  W.  Beall  lived  in  that 
village,  but  both  had  their  offices  in  the  city.  The  first  lawyer  who 
located  in  Fond  du  Lac  was  doubtless  John  A.  Eastman,  son-in-law 
of  Dr.  M.  C.  Darling,  but  S.  S.  N.  Fuller,  from  the  best  information 
obtainable,  was  a  close  second.  John  S.  Horner  was  the  first  lawyer 
at  Ripon  and  Eli  Hooker  the  first  of  Waupun. 


146 


BUSINESS  HISTORY.  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


Bragg,    Edward    S. 
Bissell,  E.  H. 
Beall,   Samuel  W. 
Brown,    Edward    L. 
Brown,  Edwin  A. 
Chapel,  Jerod. 
Coleman,   James. 
Davis,    Alex.    B. 
Dodge,  William  C. 
Drury,  Erastus  W. 


Reed,  Amos. 
Stow,  Judge  A.  W. 
Stanchfield,  S.  D. 
Swett,  John  J. 
Tallmadge,   I.    S. 
Tompkins,  Judge  C.  M. 
Truesdell,  John  C. 
Tyler,  O.  B. 
Waite,  Judge  F.  H. 
Wood,  Judge  David  E. 


The  Lawyers  of  1850. 

Following  are  the  names  of  the  lawyers  who  lived  in   Fond  du 

Lac  in  1850: 

Eastman,   John   A. 
Eaton.  Myron  C. 
Ebbetts.    William    H. 
Eldredge,  Charles  A. 
Flint,   Judge   Robert. 
Fuller,   S.   S.   N. 
Gillet,  J.   M. 
Graham,  Carson. 
Hodges,  E. 
Paine,  Albert  W. 

A  Strong  and  Able  Bar. 

The  bar  of  the  county  at  this  period  was  one  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary ability  for  a  frontier  town  of  less  than  25,000  inhabitants.  Judge 
T.  O.  Howe,  circuit  judge  here  in  1850,  highly  complimented  the  bar 
of  Fond  du  Lac  by  declaring  it  one  of  the  best  in  the  state,  not  ex- 
cepting Milwaukee.  Of  the  early  bar  members  E.  S.  Bragg,  Charles'' 
A.  Eldredge,  J.  M.  Gillet,  William  H.  Ebbets,  E.  L.  Browne,  William 
C.  Dodge  and  John  C.  Truesdell  gained  national  reputation.  And  it 
is  a  notable  fact  that  in  the  early  fifties  were  tried  here  some  of  the 
most  important  and  exciting  cases  ever  tried  in  Fond  du  Lac  county. 
There  are  few  attorneys  on  the  list  now  who  were  not  fully  up  to 
the  average  in  ability.  Since  1850  we  have  had  some  noted  lawyers 
and  judges,  btit  none  to  surpass  the  men  of  fifty  years  ago. 

The  lawyers  at  Ripon  in  1853  were: 
Bovay,  Alvin  E.  Hamilton,   A.   B. 

Dobbs,    Jerre.  Horner,   John   S. 

The  Ripon  lawyers  of  1900  were : 
Carter,   Geo,   W.  Foote,  J.  J. 

Dobbs,    Jerre.  Pedrick,   S.  M. 

Dunlap,  A.  E,  Reed,  Louis  E. 

These  lawyers  were  at  Waupun  in   1850: 
Butterfield,  Wm.  H.  Hills,  L.  B.  Hooker,  Eli. 

.   The  lawyers  in  that  part  of  Waupun  in  Fond  du  Lac  county  at 
the  present  time  are : 
Beach,  E.  M. 
Hooker,  C.  E. 

David  Whitton  is  the  Brandon  lawyer  and  Rufus  P.  Eaton  was 
a  lawyer  at  Pipe  village  in  1850. 

Comers  Since  1850. 

During  the  half  century  from  1850  to  1900,  the  lawyers  who 
located  at  Fond  du  Lac  were : 

Bass,  James  W.  x  Babcock,  David.*  Blewett,  E. 

Baxter,  C.  M.  x  Brasted,    S.   L,*  Blewett,  D.  F. 

Bissell,   Edward.  Boland,  W.  T.  x  Chadbourne,    F.    W. 

Those  marked  *  are  dead  and  those  marked  x  left  Pond  du  Lac,  most  of  tbiem  many  years  ago. 
Those  without  reference  mark,  with  seven  at  Ripon,  five  at  Waupun  and  one  at  Brandon,  fifty  in 
all,  constituted  the  bar  of  Fond  du  Lac  County  in  1900. 


Runals,  E.  L. 


Rountree,  J.  S. 


Murray,    James. 
Oliver,  R.  L. 


liilotson,  Roy  D. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


147 


Conklin,  W.  D.* 
Colman,   Elihu.* 
Daly,  C.  E.  x 
DeLaney,  E.  T.  x 
Doyle,  T.  L. 
Drury,  Horton  H.  x 
Duffy,   F.  F. 
Eastman,  H.  B^  x 
Ecke,  O.  H. 
Eldredge,  W.  A.  x 
Eldredge,  Arch  B.  x 
Everdell,  L.  B.  x 
Francis,  Geo.  H.  x 
Gerpheide,  H.  J.* 
Giffln,  Judge  N.  C. 
Gilson,  Judge  N.  S. 
Gillet,  M.  M.  X 
Glaze,  A.  T. 
Gooding,  J.  M. 
Griswold,  W.  E. 
Hammond,  Sam.  H.* 
Hayford,  J.  H.  x 
Hauser,  I.  H.  x 
Hiner,  J.  W.  x 
Hoey,  T.  J.  * 


Hurley,  W.  H.  x 
Kelly,  A.  A.* 
Knowles,   Geo.   P.  x 
Libby,  Hiram  H.  x 
Mayham,    Judge    Jay* 
Martin,  P.  H. 
Matthews,   J    R.* 
Matteson,  C.  S.  x 
Morse,  R.  L. 
McLean,  Judge  C.  x 
McCrory,  John  H. 
McKenna  Maurice. 
McKenna,  D.  W.  x 
Perkins,  Judge  Geo. 
Phelps,  E.  W. 
Pier,  Colwert  K.* 
Pier,   Kate  Hamilton. 
Pier  Kate,  x 
Priest,   D.  W.  C. 
Reilly,  M.   K. 
Reilly,  J.  P. 
Richter,   Judge   A.   E. 
Rose,  Henry  F. 
Rose,  H.  H.  x 
Sallade,  N.  W. 


Sawyer,  Roswell  M.* 
Schuchardt,  A.  B. 
Shepard,  Chas.  E.  x 
Seely,  Z.  W.* 
Smith,  Chas.  D. 
Spence,  Thos.  W.  x 
Stow,  Judge  M.  K.* 
Sutherland,  D.  D. 
Sutherland,  Judge  G.  E.* 
Swett,  H.  E. 
Taylor,   Judge   David.* 
Thompson,  John  I. 
Thorn,  Gerret  T.* 
Thorp,  Fred  0.* 
Turner,  W.  W.  D.  x 
Ware,  J.  F.  x 
Watson,  J.  W. 
Waters,  John  E.  x 
Wells,  Owen  A. 
Williams,   L.   A. 
Williams,  0.  T.  x 
Wilson,  A.  A.  x 
Worthing,  E    P. 


Did  Not  Increase  With  Population. 

The  singular  fact  will  be  noted  that  in  1850,  with  a  population 
of  less  than  2,500,  Fond  du  Lac  had  thirty  resident  lawyers,  thirty- 
nine  in  the  comity,  and  in  1900,  with  a  population  of  more  than 
15,000  in  the  city  and  50,000  in  the  county,  there  were  but  thirty- 
seven  residing  here  and  fifty  in  the  county.  During  the  half  century 
there  were  iii  lawyers  who  located  here,  of  whom  forty-three  have 
died  and  thirty-one  have  moved  away,  making  a  gain  of  but  seven 
in  the  city  and  eleven  in  the  county  in  fifty  years.  With  these  re- 
markable figures  before  us  we  may  ask  what  has  become  of  all  the 
young  lawyers  turned  out  of  the  law  schools  and  law  offices  in  that 
time.     The  answer  must  be :     "Gone  west,  sir,  gone  west." 

•  Many  Noted  Men. 

In  the  list  of  Fond  du  Lac  lawyers  are  many  noted  names,  Alex. 
W.  Stow,  first  chief  justice  and  judge  of  the  Fourth  circuit,  was  an 
eccentric  man  and  many  stories  are  yet  told  of  his  peculiarities.  He 
was  an  able  lawyer  and  a  careful  judge.  He  died  in  1854  in  Mil- 
waukee. 

After  being  on  the  circuit  bench  several  years,  David  Taylor 
became  an  associate  justice  of  the  supreme  court,  taking  that  position 
in  1878  and  serving  until  he  died  in  1891.  When  he  came  to  this 
city  he  associated  himself  with  J-  M.  Gillet  and  afterward  with 
Georg-e  E.  Sutherland. 


Those  marked  *  are  dead  and  those  marked  x  left  Fond  du  Lac,  most  of  them  many  years  ago- 
Those  without  reference  mark,  with  seTen  at  Ripon,  five  at  Waupun  and  one  at  Brandon,  fifty  in 
all,  constituted  the  bar  of  Fond  du  Lac  County  in  1900. 


148  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

George  E.  Sutherland  was  at  the  time  of  his  death,  judge  of  the 
superior  court  of  Milwaukee  and  was  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by 
the  lawyers  and  business  men  of  that  city. 

Campbell  McLean  and  Norman  S.  Gilson  were  Fond  du  Lac 
lawyers  upon  the  bench  of  the  circuit  court  and  their  ability  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  each  held  the  position  many  years. 

Came  Since  igoo. 

The  following  lawyers  have  become  members  of  the  Fond  du  Lac 
bar  since  1900: 

Downs,  T.  C.  Husting,   B.  J.  Reed,  Louis  B. 

Fairbanks,  R.   C.  Husting,  B.  A.  Reed,   Roy. 

Fellenz,  Henry  M.  Kinney,  G.  F.  Spitzer,  Frank. 

Hardgrove,  J.  G.  McKesson,  J.  C. 

The  following  have  ceased  to  be  members  of  the  Fond  du  Lac 
Baxter,  C.  M.  Matthews,  J.  E.  Spitzer,  Frank. 

Kinney,  G.  F.  Reed,  Louis  B. 

The  Pioneer  Court. 

Henry  S.  Baird  was  the  pioneer  lawyer  of  Wisconsin,  coming 
to  Green  Bay  in  1823,  when  he  was  appointed  attorney  general  of  this 
part  of  Michigan  Territory.  James  Duane  Doty  was  the  judge,  and 
the  court  being  migratory,  they  for  four  years  made  trips  between 
Green  Bay  and  Prairie  du  Chien  in  a  bark  canoe  to  hold  court.  The 
lawyers  were  Henry  S.  Baird,  Morgan  L.  Martin,  James  H.  Lock- 
wood  and  Thomas  P.  Burnett.  A  law  library  about  this  time  con- 
sisted of  one  book  of  140  pages,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  it  con- 
tained "  a  compilation  of  the  titles,  a  digest  or  copy  of  all  the  laws 
of  the  territory  which  could  be  ascertained  to  be  in  force." 

First  Supreme  Court. 

In  1836,  when  the  territory  of  Wisconsin  was  organized,  a 
supreme  court  was  created  with  Charles  Dunn  as  chief  justice  and 
David  Irwin  and  William  C.  Frazier  as  associate  justices  and  they 
held  their  first  term  at  Belmont  in  December,  1836.  In  July,  1838, 
Judge  Frazier  died  and  Andrew  G.  Miller  became  judge,  holding  the 
place  until  the  state  government  was  formed  when  he  was  made 
United  States  district  judge. 

In  1827  congress  passed  a  peculiar  law  for  this  territory  and  for 
the  government  of  the  court  presided  over  by  Judge  Doty.  This 
court  was  not  to  entertain  suits  against  persons  for  conjuration,  witch- 
craft, sorcery  or  enchantment.  Negroes,  Indians  or  mulattoes  could 
be  punished  for  ofifenses  corporally,  not  extending  to  life  or  limb. 

It  may  not  be  known  to  many  of  our  citizens  that  Fond  du  Lac 
was  one  of  the  applicants  for  the  location  of  the  state  capital  at  the 
time  Madison  was  chosen  in  1836,  and  escaped  by  a  no  means  large 
margin. 

Military  Records. 

The  patriotism  and  military  ability  of  the  members  of  the  bar  of 
Fond  du  Lac  is  shown  by  their  record  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  149 

Edward  S.  Bragg  entered  the  army  as  captain  of  Company  E, 
Sixth  Wisconsin,  and  became  brigadier  general  in  command  of  the 
famous  Iron  Brigade. 

D.  E.  Wood  was  colonel  of  the  Fourteenth  Wisconsin  and  a  good 
officer.  After  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  where  he  was  in  command  of  his 
regiment,  he  came  home  ill  and  died. 

George  W.  Carter  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Fourth  Wisconsin, 
and  was  seriously  wounded  at  Port  Hudson,  the  effects  of  which  he 
will  carry  to  his  grave.  He  subsequently  entered  the  service  again 
as  a  captain  in  the  Relief  Corps  under  General  Halbert  E.  Paine  and 
served  to  the  end  of  the  war. 

Colwert  K.  Pier  was  lieutenant  colonel  of  the  Thirty-eighth 
Wisconsin.     He  was  seriously  wounded  at  Petersburg,  Va. 

Norman  S.  Gilson  was  lieutenant  colonel  of  the  Fifty-second 
regiment  of  United  States  volunteers. 

Colonel  Roswell  M.  Sawyer  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  First  Wis- 
consin, but  was  soon  transferred  to  the  staff  of  General  Sherman, 
where  he  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  dying  a  few  years  later, 

A.  E.  Bovay  was  major  of  the  Nineteenth  Wisconsin  and  became 
quite  noted  as  provost  marshal  of  Norfolk,  Va. 

Edwin  A.  Brown  was  captain  of  Company  E,  Sixth  Wisconsin, 
and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Antietam.  His  death  was  much  la- 
mented at  home  and  in  the  army.  The  local  Grand  Army  Post  is 
named  after  him.  He  was  a  son  of  Isaac  Brown,  a  son-in-law  of 
Edward  Pier,  and  the  father  of  Mrs.  Hattie  Sackett. 

George  E.  Sutherland  was  captain  of  Company  B,  Thirteenth 
United  States  volunteers. 

Sumner  L.  Brasted  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Thirty-second  Wis- 
consin. 

Elihu  Colman  was  a  member  of  the  First  Wisconsin  cavalry. 

Circuit  Court  Judges. 

Alex.  W.  Stow  was  the  first  judge  of  the  Fourth  judicial  circuit, 
being  elected  in  1848  over  Erastus  VV.  Drury.  When  the  circuit 
judges  of  the  state  drew  lots  for  terms,  Judge  Stow  drew  the  short 
term  of  two  years. 

Timothy  O.  Howe,  of  Green  Bay,  was  elected  in  1850  over 
Erastus  W.  Drury.  He  resigned  in  1855,  when  he  was  elected  United 
States  senator  and  Governor  Barstow  appointed  William  R.  Gorse- 
line,  of  Sheboygan  county,  to  the  vacancy. 

William  R.  Gorseline  was  elected  in  1856  without  opposition, 
but  resigned  in  1858  to  go  to  Colorado. 

David  Taylor  was  appointed  to  the  vacancy  on  the  bench  in  1858 
by  Governor  Randall,  was  elected  in  1859  ^o^  the  unexpired  term  and 
again  in   1862  for  the  full  term  without  opposition. 

Campbell  McLean  was  nominated  by  a  democratic  convention 
in  1868  and  defeated  Judge  Taylor.  The  latter  went  on  the  supreme 
bench  in  1878  and  died  in  i8()i.  Judge  McLean  was  re-elected  in 
1874  without  opposition. 


150  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Norman  S.  Gilson  received  the  democratic  nomination  in  i88o 
and  was  elected  over  Campbell  McLean,  also  in  1886,  and  in  1892  was 
re-elected  without  opposition.  In  1898  Judge  Gilson  declined  a  fourth 
term,  having  served  eighteen  years  with  distinguished  success. 

Michael  Kirwan,  of  Manitowoc,  was  elected  in  1898  over  A.  C. 
Prescott,  of  Sheboygan,  and  was  re-elected  in  1904  without  opposi- 
tion. 

Succession  of  County  Judges. 

Dr.  Mason  C.  Darling  was  probate  judge  in  the  territorial  days. 

John  Bannister  was  elected  county  judge  for  one  year  in  1848 
over  John  A.  Eastman. 

C.  M.  Tompkins  was  elected  in  1849  ^^^  ^^""^  ^^^^^  term  of  four 
years  over  M.  C.  Eaton  and  Alex.  B.  Davis. 

David  E.  Wood  was  elected  in  1853  over  S.  D.  Stanchfield. 

Robert  Flint  was  elected  in  1857  and  again  in  1861  over  A.  W. 
Paine. 

M.  K.  Stow  was  elected  in  1865  over  Robert  Flint. 

Jay  Mayham  was  elected  in  1869  over  William  D.  Conklin,  but 
resigned  six  months  before  the  close  of  his  term  on  account  of  ill 
health. 

N.  C.  Giffin,  who  had  been  elected  to  the  office  to  succeed  Judge 
Mayham,  was  appointed  to  All  the  vacancy  by  Governor  Washburn, 
and  was  elected  again  in  1873  over  H.  F.  Rose. 

George  Perkins  was  elected  in  1877  and  again  in  1881  over  N.  C. 
Giffin  and  in  1885  over  W.  D.  Conklin. 

A.  E.  Richter  was  elected  in  1889  over  F.  F.  Duffy  and  re-elected 
in  1893  and  1897  without  opposition.  In  1901  he  was  elected  for  a 
fourth  term  over  O.  H.  Ecke,  and  at  the  end  of  the  present  term  will 
have  served  sixteen  years. 

In  the  years  that  have  passed  the  bar  of  Fond  du  Lac  county  has 
been  composed  of  learned,  energetic  and  courteous  men,  and  let  us 
hope  that  the  lawyers  of  the  future  will  be  like  them. 


Marshall  and  His  Liniment. 
It  was  in  i860  that  J.  W.  Marshall  began  the  manufacture  of 
Marshall's  Liniment  and  two  or  three  other  articles.  He  was  putting 
up  bottled  soda  water  at  the  time,  but  being  a  good  and  loud  talker, 
he  quit  that  business  to  introduce  the  liniment.  He  died  soon  after 
and  his  son,  C.  H.  Marshall  continued  the  business  until  his  death 
a  few  years  ago. 


About  Some  Old  Houses.  * 

As  the  old  resident  stands  on  the  L.  F.  Stow  premises,  south- 
west corner  of  Marr  and  Sixth  streets,  and  looks  at  the  other  three 
corners,  he  may  wonder  if  we  really  have  passed  into  the  twentieth 
century.  The  Dexter,  the  McCarty  and  Jo.  Olmsted  homes  look  to 
him  as  if  he  had  not  drifted  far  from  i860.  They  have  been  fairly 
well  cared  for  and  are  not  in  dilapidation  but  they  appear  very  much 
as  they  did  at  that  period  of  forty-five  years  ago. 


GAS  ^VORKS  AND  GAS  MEN 


The  Beginning  of  Our  Gas  Works  and  Who  Has  Been  Identified 

With  the  Business. 


The  Fond  du  Lac  Gas  Works  had  their  start  in  1859,  the  fran- 
chise being-  procured  that  year  from  the  city  by  John  P.  Hayes.  The 
works  were  located  where  they  are  now,  but  under  strong  protest 
from  the  people  who  believed  the  smell  from  them  would  be  offensive. 
Mr.  Hayes  did  not  push  the  work  vigorously,  and  in  a  couple  of  years 
sold  out  to  A.  D.  Bonesteel  and  James  G.  Miller,  and  the  firm  of 
Bonesteel  &  ]\Iiller  went  at  the  work  vigorously,  but  while  the  plant 
was  not  large  it  was  probably  large  enough  for  the  place. 

After  an  ownership  of  four  years,  both  proprietors  desiring  to  go 
to  other  fields,  sold  the  works  in  1865  to  Jesse  Beekeley,  who  con- 
tinued in  possession  eleven  years,  during  which  time  the  works  were 
extended  but  little.  It  was  during  this  time  that  Thomas  Murphy 
became  connected  with  the  works  and  was  superintendent  about 
twenty-five  years,  though  handicapped  much  of  this  time  by  refusals 
to  put  money  enough  into  them  to  make  them  efficient  and  what  he 
thought  they  ought  to  be.  In  1876  a  syndicate  composed  of  Joseph 
Andrews  and  his  father-in-law,  and  three  brothers  of  Mr.  Andrews, 
acquired  a  title  to  the  wo!rks,  and  held  them  more  than  twenty  years. 
At  first  things  moved  smoothly  and  many  improvements  were  made, 
but  after  a  time  difficulties  and  dissatisfaction  crept  in  and  by  the 
time  a  sale  was  effected  to  the  present  owners,  headed  by  President 
Whitcomb,  of  the  Wisconsin  Central  railroad,  the  works  were  almost 
worn  out. 

The  death  of  Joseph  Andrews  brought  new  difficulties  and  in  the 
adjustment  of  affairs,  and  of  course  things  were  more  than  ever 
neglected.  The  present  owners  found  it  necessary  to  make  improve- 
ments at  once.  New  retorts,  engine,  pvimps,  purifying  apparatus  and 
a  fine  new  gas  holder  double  the  capacity  of  the  old  one,  were  put  in. 
The  buildings  were  also  much  improved  and  a  new  floor  put  into  the 
retort  room.  For  more  than  thirty  years  there  had  been  a  manifest 
hesitation  to  put  money  into  the  works  for  improvement,  or  even  for 
repairs  imless  absolute  necessity  compelled  it.  But  a  more  liberal 
policy  is  manifested  now  and  the  Fond  du  Lac  Gas  Works  are  in 
more  presentable  shape  than  they  have  been  in  many  years,  and  will 
be  still  further  improved  and  extended. 

The  first  gas  holder  of  the  Fond  du  Las  Gas  Works  is  still  in 
existence  and  it  will  surprise  many  people  to  know  that  it  is  in  its 
old  pit  under  the  floor  of  the  gas  building  on  West  Second  street.  It 
is  disconnected  by  removal  of  piping,  but  when  the  building  was 
erected  the  old  gas  holder  was  left  in- its  place  and  is  there  yet.  It 
was  in  a  pit  by  the  side  of  this  gas  holder,  that  James  Miller  had  the 


152  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

explosion  in  which  he  so  nearly  lost  his  life.  Miller  was  an  English- 
man and  claimed  to  be  a  regularly  educated  gas  engineer,  but  if  so 
he  must  have  been  very  careless,  for  he  had  a  number  of  accidents 
of  various  kinds  while  in  charge  of  the  works  here.  In  at  least  one 
of  them  it  is  a  wonder  that  he  was  not  killed. 

The  Fond  du  L.ac  Gas  Works  until  now  have  not  had  a  fair 
chance.  They  were  cheaply  put  in  at  the  start  and  when  in  need  of 
repairs  and  improvements,  the  money  to  pay  the  cost  was  not  forth- 
coming. The  owners  were  too  poor  or  too  stingy  to  do  the  work 
needed,  and  the  result  has  been  that  the  works  were  not  satisfactory 
to  the  people.  The  present  owners  are  believed  to  have  ample  capital 
and  that  the  gas  works  will  be  greatly  improved  and  made  what  they 
ought  to  be. 

When  the  gas  works  were  started,  gas  was  used  for  lighting 
purposes  only,  now  the  use  has  extended  to  heating  and  cooking,  and 
who  can  tell  to  what  other  purposes  it  may  be  applied  in  the  not 
distant  future?  The  scientific  genius  may  soon  find  other  uses  for 
it.  At  dififerent  times  efforts  have  been  made  to  cheapen  the  product 
at  the  works  by  the  use  of  rosin,  petroleum  and  even  wood.  At  one 
time  hundreds  of  cords  of  tamarack  wood  was  used  annually  to 
adulterate  or  cheapen  the  product  to  the  manufacturer  but  were 
abandoned.  Gas  can  be  made  from  such  articles,  but  after  all  is  but 
an  adulteration  and  is  satisfying  to  neither  manufacturer  nor  con- 
sumer. Straight  coal  gas  properly  made,  is  the  only  product  that  is 
satisfactory  to  all  concerned.  That  which  is  now  made  at  the  Fond 
du  Lac  Gas  Works  is  understood  to  be  of  this  character  and  the  coal 
used  is  of  a  high  grade.  There  is  some  complaint  about  the  gas 
furnished  consumers,  but  such  complaints  will  come  at  times  though 
the  best  material  is  used. 

In  this  connection  it  is  appropriate  to  speak  of  the  lights  in  use 
when  the  gas  works  came  into  existence.  Fifty  years  ago  the  people 
were  using  lights  of  which  the  present  generation  has  no  knowledge. 
The  people  now  do  know  a  little  about  candles,  but  what  do  they 
know  about  lard  oil  lamps,  fluid  lamps  and  camphene  lamps?  Prac- 
tically nothing.  Camphene  was  made  of  alcohol,  turpentine  and  gum 
camphor,  and  fluid  the  same  without  the  turpentine.  Both  were  very 
explosive  but  generally  used.  The  first  kerosene  oil  brought  to  Fond 
du  Lac  was  by  J.  R.  and  J.  W.  Partridge,  the  druggists,  about  1855. 
They  brought  lamps  to  burn  it  which  were  very  dilferent  from  those 
of  today.  It  was  liked  very  much  but  after  the  first  invoice  of  oil 
was  sold,  no  more  could  be  obtained  for  several  months.  Crude 
petroleum  would  not  work  in  the  lamps  and  Mr.  Partridge  could  not 
get  refined  oil  and  the  old  lamps  had  to  be  brought  into  use  again. 
Finally  some  refined  oil  was  obtained  along  in  the  spring  of  1856, 
and  since  then  the  refiners  kept  up  with  the  demand. 

The  lamps  given  to  us  to  burn  the  first  kerosene,  were  as  crude 

.  as  was  the  oil,  and  would  be  amusing  to  the  modern  consumers,  but 

after  all  were  so  much  of  air  improvement   in   methods  of  lighting 

then  in  use,  that  they  were  gladly  accepted.    And  the  oil — well,  it  was 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  153 

often  straw  colored,  but  was  used  because  it  was  the  best  to  be  had. 
It  was  in  this  as  in  many  other  things  of  early  times,  it  was  accepted 
as  all  right  because  there  was  nothing  better  to  be  had. 


First  Yacht  on  These  Waters. 

The  first  yacht  on  Fond  du  Lac  waters  was  named  after  the  great 
hunter  in  Bible  times,  "Nimrod."  It  was  of  the  Lake  Michigan  class 
of  fishing  and  hunting  boats,  was  about  thirty  feet  long  and  five  or  six 
feet  wide,  sloop  rigged.  It  was  owned  by  M.  J.  Thomas,  son-in-law 
of  John  B.  Macy.  It  was  first  put  into  the  water  at  the  landing,  but 
afterwards  taken  to  Lake  deNeveu,  where  Mr.  Thomas  built  a  neat 
boat  house,  but  both  were  wrecked  in  a  storm.  One  night  a  wind 
storm  of  great  violence  moved  the  house  and  partly  turned  it  over, 
resulting  in  a  general  wreck. 


Weather  on  January  i,  1854. 

On  the  1st  day  of  January,  1854,  Willard  Edson,  father  of  Solon 
W.  Edson,  of  the  five  points  shops,  was  working  at  the  bench  in  the 
shop  of  William  Mumby,  on  West  Second  street,  and  Solon  was 
there  and  knows  it  to  be  a  fact  that  the  day  was  as  bright  and  warm 
as  a  day  in  June.  It  was  just  ten  years  later,  on  January  ist,  1864, 
that  we  had  the  memorable  cold  New  Year.  It  was  just  half  way 
between  these  years,  on  May  15,  1859,  that  we  had  snow  six  inches 
deep.  Five  years  after  the  cold  New  Year,  in  1869,  we  had  the  hot 
summer.  One  day  in  July  the  mercury  went  to  104  in  the  shade,  in 
Ripon,  and  business  was  suspended.     95  to  100  was  not  unusual. 

The  Edson  shop  at  the  five  points  is  the  veteran  wood  working 
shop,  if  indeed  it  is  not  the  oldest  continuously  working  shop  of  any 
sort  in  the  entire  city.  The  Amory  gun  shop  was  started  in  1848, 
but  the  name  has  been  changed  three  times — S.  B.  &  J.  Amory 
to  T.  S.  Weeks,  he  to  Weeks  &  Hurlbut,  and  they  to  Hurlbut  & 
Harris.  The  Edson  shop  was  moved  to  its  present  location  in  1854, 
and  has  been  in  charge  of  Willard  Edson  and  his  son,  Solon  W. 
Edson,  ever  since.  A  son  of  the  latter,  Eugene  Edson,  was  with  his 
father  a  short  time,  but  died  in  1895.  This  shop  has  not  been  out  of 
the  hands  of  the  Edson  family  from  its  beginning  in  1854,  therefore 
has  been  in  continuous  existence  at  this  date  of  1905,  more  than  half 
a  century. 


Western  Avenue  Bridge. 

The  first  bridge  across  the  west  branch  of  the  river  at  Western 
Avenue,  was  built  of  logs  and  logs  it  has  been  much  of  the  time  since. 
A  resident  who  has  crossed  and  re-crossed  that  bridge  frequently 
during  the  past  forty  years,  says  he  thinks  it  is  about  time  that  the 
city  had  a  decent  bridge  there  and  few  people  will  dispute  his  state- 
ment. It  has  been  tinkered  and  repaired  many  times,  but  never  has 
it  resulted  in  a  bridge  that  at  all  compared  with  others  in  the  city. 
Once  or  twice  it  broke  down,  but  fortunatelv  no  one  was  hurt. 


154  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

A  Cat  Ready  to  Fight. 

C.  L.  Ailing  was  one  of  the  early  grocerymen  of  Fond  du  Lac. 
It  was  in  Case  &  Alling's  store  that  the  fire  started  in  1852,  that 
burned  the  east  side  of  Main  street,  between  First  and  Second.  The 
year  that  he  began  business  here  is  not  known,  but  old  residents 
know  he  was  here  some  time  before  this  fire  and  that  he  continued 
in  it  almost  to  the  date  of  his  death  in  1890.  After  he  had  built  the 
store  now  occupied  by  Robbins  grocery  store,  some  amusing  events 
took  place  in  which  a  cat  played  a  conspicuous  part.  Mr.  Alling's 
son-in-law,  Wesley  G.  Curtis,  clerked  in  the  store  and  a  large  and 
powerful  cat  held  a  place  there  to  look  after  the  rats  and  mice,  but 
he  assumed  the  responsibility  of  looking  after  dogs  also.  This  large 
and  powerful  store  cat  seemed  to  dislike  dogs,  at  least  would  not 
allow  them  to  rest  in  peace  in  the  store.  Jay  Hall  knew  of  this  and 
one  day  borrowed  a  neighbor's  large  dog  to  shake  the  cat.  On  his 
way  to  town  Jay  had  doubtless  stopped  at  the  Four  Mile  House,  as 
he  was  well  filled  with  booze.  He  slowly  marched  into  Alling's  store, 
the  dog  at  his  heels.  Tommy  was  squatted  on  the  counter,  near  the 
cheese  box,  apparently  half  asleep.  Suddenly  there  was  a  scrabbling 
and  commotion,  the  dog  headed  for  the  door,  the  cat  on  his  neck  and 
shoulders  clawing,  biting  and  squalling  as  only  a  cat  can  claw,  bite 
and  squall.  Curtis  threw  the  door  open  and  the  dog  made  a  leap  of 
eight  or  ten  feet  into  the  street,  while  small  tufts  of  dog  hair  were 
wafted  along  the  floor  by  the  gentle  breeze.  Jay  was  not  pleased 
that  his  borrowed  dog  was  so  quickly  and  easily  cleaned  out.  To 
smooth  his  lacerated  feelings  and  fasten  the  joke  on  some  one  besides 
himself,  he  told  Hi  Lindsley  that  Ailing  had  a  store  cat  that  he  be- 
lieved coukl  whip  his  brindle  bull  dog,  and  told  him  how  to  work  it 
to  get  a  fight.  A  few  days  later  Hi  went  leisurely  into  the  store  with 
his  brindle  purp  at  his  heels.  Tommy  was  not  on  the  counter,  but 
he  got  there  quick  enough  when  he  saw  the  dog,  and  in  less  than 
half  a  minute  a  lively  and  noisy  fight  was  in  active  progress,  with  a 
result  worse  than  in  Jay  Hall's  case,  for  this  time  the  dog  broke  one 
of  the  glasses  in  the  doors,  in  his  anxiety  to  get  out.  In  a  fight  on  the 
ground  or  floor,  either  of  these  dogs  could  have  vanquished  the  cat, 
but  he  set  up  his  fights  in  his  own  way  and  was  always  the  victor. 
"Bowser,"  (that  was  Tommy's  name),  was  a  grand  cat  for  what  he 
was  there  for.  Curtis  used  to  say  the  stay  of  a  rat  or  mouse  in  that 
store  was  very  short.  The  stay  of  dogs  seems  to  have  been  short 
also,  hence  Tommy  in  his  lifetime  was  well  cared  for.  What  became 
of  him  finally,  no  one  knew.  He  simply  disappeared  and  was  no 
more  seen.  It  was  a  long  time  before  Hi  Lindsley  ceased  to  hear 
about  his  fighting  bull  dog  being  whipped  by  a  cat. 


Up  to  about  i860,  the  County  Treasurer's  tax  list  in  the  spring, 
filled  one  to  two  pages  of  the  Journal,  and  the  Clerk's  list  in  the  fall, 
about  half  as  much.  One  has  to  look  close  now  to  find  them  in 
the  paper  at  all.  People  pay  their  taxes  and  the  newspapers  get  less 
revenue. 


DRY  HOP  YEAST  BUSINESS 


Henry  Boyle  and  John  T.  Boyle  Have  Remarkable  Success  in  the 
Manufacture  of  Yeast  in  Fond  du  Lac. 


In  the  comparatively  short  business  period  of  twenty  years, 
Henry  Boyle  and  John  T.  Boyle  had  the  most  successful  career  ever 
known  in  a  manufacturing  enterprise  in  this  city.  And  their  success 
was  not  reached  through  good  luck,  but  was  the  result  of  hard 
work  and  constant  mental  effort.  Night  and  day  their  business  was 
looked  to  carefully  and  promptly. 

Henry  Boyle  and  John  T.  Boyle  were  born  at  Waterloo,  N.  Y., 
and  at  that  place,  in  the  employ  of  the  Western  Yeast  Company, 
manufacturers  of  the  National  and  Twin  Brothers  Yeast  at  that 
place,  gained  their  first  knowledge  of  the  yeast  business.  In  1872 
the  brothers  talked  over  the  matter  of  locating  at  some  other  place 
and  founding  a  business  of  their  own.  With  this  in  view  they  went 
first  to  Pittsburg,  but  found  rents  and  other  expenditures  so  high  as 
to  be  prohibitory,  and  came  west  to  Milwaukee.  While  looking  the 
ground  over,  they  resolved  to  make  a  short  visit  to  an  uncle,  Mr. 
Crosby,  who  resided  a  short  distance  west  of  Ripon,  and  it  was  during 
this  short  visit  near  Ripon,  that  their  destiny  was  fixed.  A  man  from 
Fond  du  Lac  was  there  and  when  he  learned  of  their  search  for  a 
location  suggested  Fond  du  Lac.  They  came  and  arriving  in  the 
evening  stayed  all  night  at  one  of  the  small,  lowertown  hotels.  In 
the  morning  the  two  young  micn  wandered  up  town,  looking  and 
speculating  as  they  went.  At  the  corner  of  Main  and  Johnson  streets 
they  found  the  old  Squire's  building  with  broken  windows  and  in  a 
general  condition  of  dilapidation.  But  they  were  not  long  in  decid- 
ing what  they  would  do,  and  rented  the  Squire's  shop  for  $8  a  month. 
As  soon  as  the  building  could  be  got  ready  they  went  into  the  manu- 
facture of  dry  hop  yeast,  under  the  name  of  Yeast  Foam,  the  name 
it  has  borne  ever  since.  A  little  later  they  started  a  grocery  store  at 
the  same  place,  and  in  two  or  three  years  had  built  up  a  trade  not 
surpassed,  if  indeed  equaled,  by  any  store  in  the  city  except  perhaps 
the  Zinke  Brothers. 

But  now  came  a  marked  period  in  the  business  experience  of 
Boyle  Brothers  and  of  the  manufacture  of  yeast  in  Fond  du  Lac. 
Up  to  1877  all  yeast  was  put  up  in  ten  cent  packages.  There  were  a 
dozen  cakes  in  a  package  and  few  families  could  use  them  all  before 
becoming  unfit  for  use.  There  was  too  much  yeast  and  too  high  a 
price,  hence  the  sale  was  slow.  Boyle  Brothers  now  resolved  to  cut 
quantity  and  price  in  the  middle  and  for  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  yeast  making,  there  was  a  five  cent  package  in  the  market.  Reid, 
Murdock  &  Fisher,  then  the  heaviest  wholesale  grocery  house  in 
Chicago,  soon  had  large  orders  and  the  demand  from  country  dealers 


156  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

compelled  other  wholesale  houses  to  buy  it,  and  the  result  was  that 
in  1886  the  large  factory  on  Main  street  was  built,  and  which  was 
largely  increased  from  year  to  year,  in  size  and  capacity,  until  1898, 
when  it  had  become  the  largest  factory  of  its  kind  in  the  United 
States  or  the  world.  Henry  Boyle  and  John  T.  Boyle,  associated 
with  their  uncle,  Peter  T.  Crosby,  in  their  spheres  in  the  factory, 
made  a  business  association  unsurpassed  for  the  work  in  hand.  At 
first  the  name  was  American  Dry  Hop  Yeast  Co.,  but  in  1877  the 
business  name  became  the  Northwestern  Yeast  Co.,  the  title  it  still 
bears.     The  product  is  known  as  Yeast  Foam. 

In  1893  ^  consolidation  took  place,  which  brought  together  in 
one  plant,  two  of  the  heaviest  yeast  concerns  in  this  country,  and 
since  the  consolidation  the  product  has  tripled.  They  have  150  men 
on  the  road  and  employ  400  in  the  factory.  Since  the  consolidation, 
Mr.  Henry  Boyle  has  continued  Vice-President  and  Director  of  the 
company  and  gives  it  much  of  his  attention.  In  1893  ^1^^  factory  here 
was  using  twelve  tons  of  cornmeal  per  day  in  the  manufacture  of 
yeast  cakes,  but  nearly  five  times  that  amount  is  now  used. 

Such  has  been  the"  marked  success  of  the  Boyle  Brothers  in  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  Dry  Hop  Yeast,  since  their  coming  to  Fond 
du  Lac  in  1873.  Since  the  consolidation  in  1893  they  have  shown 
an  abiding  faith  in  Fond  du  Lac  and  its  business  by  investing  large 
sums  of  money  in  almost  every  enterprise  coming  to  public  notice. 
In  charitable  work  they  have  taken  the  lead.  Henry  Boyle  built 
and  equipped  the  Catholic  Old  Folks*  Home  at  a  cost  of  $30,000  and 
endowed  it  at  a  cost  of  $45,000  more.  John  T.  Boyle  bought  the 
land,  built  and  fully  equipped  the  Sanitarium  under  the  ledge  east 
of  the  city.  The  surroundings  of  this  place,  especially  the  grand 
spring,  makes  it  an  ideal  location  which  Mr.  Boyle  was  willing  to 
invest  about  $40,000.  The  Public  Library,  the  Commercial  Bank 
building,  the  new  Opera  House  and  other  enterprises  represent  the 
liberality  and  public  spirit  of  the  Boyle  Brothers. 

The  remarkable  success  of  Boyle  Brothers  induced  others  to 
engage  in  the  yeast  business  here,  but  all  of  them  ceased  after  a 
time.  The  most  successful  of  these  was  the  Diamond  Yeast  Co., 
under  the  management  of  T.  H.  Hastings.  This  was  sold  to  the 
consolidated  company,  in  1894.  The  Wafer  Yeast  Company,  of 
which  Col.  C.  H.  DeGroat  was  the  leader,  ceased  business  in  1895. 
Yeast  Flakes  was  the  name  given  to  a  product  made  on  upper  Main 
street  by  C.  W.  Pinkham,  but  was  never  a  formidable  competitor  in 
the  market.  It  lingered  along  until  1895,  when  it  dropped  out  of  the 
market.  There  were  three  or  four  other  attempts  at  yeast  making 
in  Fond  du  Lac,  but  they  were  so  weak  and  existed  for  so  short  a 
time  that  the  names  of  the  makers  and  their  product  cannot  now  be 
recalled.  What  is  known  as  compressed  yeast  was  never  made  here, 
as  it  comes  from  the  settling  pans  and  tubs  in  the  manufacture  of 
high  wines.  As  no  high  wines  are  distilled  here  no  compressed  yeast 
is  made.  The  Boyle  Brothers  and  their  product,  Yeast  Foam,  are  the 
names  and  distinctive  features  of  yeast  making  in  Fond  du  Lac. 
They  originated  the  business  and  made  a  marked  success  of  it. 


CLOTHING.  JEWELRY,  GROCERIES,  ETC. 


Various   Kinds   of   Business  Begun  in  Early    Days,   Brought   Down 

to  the  Present  Dates  and  Names  Also 

Remembered. 


The  Clothing  Trade. 

This  line  of  business  was  ahnost  wholly  in  the  general  stores 
until  1850.  We  had  some  tailors,  John  B.  Wilbor,  Kasson  Freeman, 
A.  H.  Clark,  Albert  Becker,  John  Hecht,  John  Weber  and  a  little 
later  S.  A.  Dudley  and  others.  As  early  as  1849  ^^^  old  Jewish  gentle- 
man named  S.  Maddevitch,  opened  a  stock  of  clothing  here  and 
others  followed  him  for  short  periods  of  time.  It  was  in  1857  that 
Seligman  &  Bro.  opened  the  first  large  clothing  store  in  Fond  du  Lac. 
They  had  a  large  stock  and  did  a  very  large  business  for  some  years. 
M.  Rehm  was  an  early  day  clothier.  He  died  in  New  York  city  a 
few  years  ago.  H.  Altpass  Avas  a  dealer  in  hats,  caps  and  gents' 
furnishing  goods.  Gielow  &  Son  were  also  early  day  dealers.  The 
coming  of  the  war  changed  business  methods  and  the  clothing  trade 
changed  with  others  until  things  developed  as  we  have  them   now. 

Watches  and  Jewelry.- 

Philo  Smith  was  Fond  du  Lac's  first  watch  repairer  and  jeweler. 
He  was  here  in  1847.  Then  we  had  in  1849,  Philip  Odenbrett.  In 
1854  G.  Scherzinger  came,  and  in  1856  A.  Kuenne  and  H.  G.  De 
Sombre.  Charles  Trowbridge  &  Bro.  came  a  little  later  and  were 
here  many  years.  A.  H.  Furstnow  has  been  the  successor  of  Mr. 
Kuenne,  with  whom  he  served  an  apprenticeship  at  the  business. 
Mr.  Scherzinger  and  Mr.  DeSombre  have  stayed  with  us.  From  the 
old  times  down  to  the  present,  we  have  had  many  others  for  greater 
or  less  periods  of  time. 

The   Grocery    Stores. 

In  1850,  Jason  Wilkins  started  a  store  in  which  only  groceries 
and  garden  products  was  kept,  and  it  was  the  first  grocery  in  Fond 
du  Lac.  Before  this  all  the  general  stores  kept  groceries.  The  earli- 
est grocers  following  Jason  Wilkins,  were  J.  W.  Carpenter,  T.  &  B. 
Mason,  A.  Pogiie,  C.  L.  Ailing,  R.  A.  &  K.'O.  Baker,  Case  &  Ailing, 
Valentine  &  Olmsted,  Smith  .&  Chandler,  and  a  little  later  E.  H. 
Jones,  Davis  &  Co.,  W.  W.  Clark,  N.  L.  Bullis,  J.  E.  Peabody,  J.  W. 
Conley,  Robert  Wyat  and  many  others.  No  line  of  business  increased 
so  rapidly  after  1870,  as  the  grocery,  until  now  they  are  to  be  found 
in  every  part  of  the  city  and  their  number  is  legion.  The  methods  of 
doing  business  by  the  grocers  has  very  much  changed  since  the  early 
days.  Should  an  old  timer  be  able  to  return  now  to  do  business  with 
his  grocer,   he  would   be  very   much   surprised   to   find   the   delivery 


fc> 


158  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

wagon  at  the  door,  with  a  boy  to  deliver  his  purchase  if  not  of  greater 
value  than  a  nickle.  and  many  other  innovations.  The  old  time 
grocery  store  was  a  very  different  place  from  one  of  today.  Articles 
put  up  in  glass,  tin  and  paper  were  almost  unknown  and  bakery 
goods,  except  crackers,  were  not  kept.  Bread  was  sold  at  the 
bakeries  and  vegetables  were  sold  from  the  gardener's  wagon. 

Milliners  and  Dressmakers. 

In  the  early  times  ladies  were  content  if  they  could  obtain  the 
material  of  which  to  build  a  bonnet  or  construct  a  dress.  They  could 
arrange  it  for  themselves,  or  find  some  neighbor  to  do  it  if  they  could 
get  the  material.  Their  ideas  of  style  were  not  as  elaborate  as  in 
later  years,  yet  they  got  along  very  well.  It  is  only  since  the  war 
that  there  were  several  styles  of  hats  and  bonnets  at  the  same  time, 
as  one  or  two  styles  would  fill  the  bill  in  earlier  years,  and  it  is  since 
the  coming  of  many  kinds  and  the  active  sale  of  sewing  machines, 
that  ladies"  dresses  required  as  much  planning  and  as  elaborate  work 
as  the  construction  of  a  modern  printing  press.  Fifty  years  ago  the 
Singer,  the  Wheeler  &  Wilson  and  Grover  &  Baker  sewing  machines 
had  but  just  got  into  use  to  a  very  limited  extent.  Most  families 
were  confined  largely  to  hard  work  and  the  modern  dress  was  some 
years  in  the  future.  Mrs.  Wilber,  Mrs.  Bonnell,  the  Giltner  girls  and 
others  of  the  early  milliners,  dil  not  have  the  troubles  of  their  sisters 
of  the  present,  in  keeping  up  with  the  styles. 

Florists  and  Gardeners. 

In  early  days  the  people  were  concerned  about  things  more  sub- 
stantial than  flowers  and  house  plants.  Something  eatable,  some- 
thing wearable,  something  usable,  was  needed  most.  The  French 
Gardens  and  Zickerick's  were  here  early  and  easily  furnished  all  the 
flowers  desired  for  funerals  and  social  functions.  The  use  of  flowers 
and  plants  for  funerals  was  not  so  common  then  as  now,  and  parties 
where  flowers  were  appropriate  or  desired,  were  few  and  far  be- 
tween. Something  far  more  substantial  than  posies  was  looked  for 
on  such  occasions.  In  war  times  the  use  of  flowers  became  more 
general  and  Mr.  Haentze  came  and  soon  became  leader  in  the  business, 
which  has  continued  to  this  time.  Most  of  the  flowers  now  used 
here  are  grown  at  home,  but  on  special  occasions  heavy  drafts  are 
made  upon  Chicago  and  Milwaukee  florists.  Others  at  times  have 
grown  flowers  here  in  a  small  way,  but  Lallier,  or  the  French  Gardens, 
and  Haentze  have  been  the  principal  ones  for  many  years.  W.  C. 
Green  was  the  early  vegetable  peddler,  Lallier  also  came  early  and  at 
all  times  there  have  been  private  gardeners  to  distribute  vegetables. 

Tobacco  and  Cigar  Trade. 

To  the  younger  people,  meaning  those  who  had  not  reached  the 
stage  of  business  activity  at  the  time  of  the  war,  it  is  well  to  say 
here  that  it  was  not  until  1862  that  the  government  tax  was  levied 
upon  liquor  and  tobacco.  To  that  time  the  sale  of  these  was  free  in 
every  form.    But  the  tax  came  and  came  heavy.    Every  manufacturer 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  159 

must  use  stamps  on  his  packages  and  every  dealer  must  have  a 
license.  Such  is  the  law  now,  though  the  rate  is  some  lower.  In  old 
times  the  stamps  and  license  were  never  seen..  Fifty  years  ago  fine- 
cut  chewing  tobacco  was  sold  in  three  cent  packages,  and  smoking 
by  the  pound  from  barrels.  Older  citizens  will  remember  the  tobacco 
store  of  Fromm  &  \\''olf,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  Fond  du  Lac.  During 
its  entire  existence  from  1849  ^o  1887,  a  period  of  thirty-eight  years, 
the  store  occupied  the  place  where  Sun  Woh's  Chinese  laundry  is 
now.  Mr.  Fromm  died  in  1869  and  Joseph  Wolf  in  1885,  when  L.  A. 
Ehrhart  bought  the  stock  but  discontinued  the  store  after  two 
years.  There  have  been  numerous  such  stores  since,  but  From  & 
Wolf  was  the  only  one  for  many  vears. 


Draying  and  Parcel  Delivery. 

Teaming  in  the  earliest  days  of  Fond  du  Lac  was  done  by  Ed. 
Carey,  Ben  Gilbert  and  his  father  and  one  or  two  others,  with  their 
oxen.  A  little  later  Steve  Buckland,  John  Denny,  Jo.  King  and  J.  W. 
Oliver  had  horse  teams  ready  to  do  this  work  when  not  on  the  road 
freighting  to  and  from  Milwaukee  and  Sheboygan.  A  wagon  maker 
named  Griswold,  early  in  the  fifties,  put  the  first  dray  on  the  streets. 
Then  came  John  Monahan,  J.  A¥.  Hodges,  Tom  Toomy,  Oliver 
Tompkins,  John  Dana,  John  Hale,  Bob  Atkinson,  William  Druth, 
Henry  Schlicher  and  several  others.  In  1870  all  the  old  style  dray- 
men disappeared  and  the  work  was  done  with  wagoias.  In  the 
eighties  A.  Tait  organized  the  first  heavy  freight  line  to  the  rail- 
roads, in  late  years  so  successfully  managed  by  Petrie  and  O'Connor. 
Tait  sold  the  business  to  go  into  coal  and  wood.  In  1890  came  a 
revelation  in  the  street  business  by  the  appearance  of  Orson  Mcll- 
vaine  and  his  innocent  appearing  parcel  delivery  wagon.  To  this 
time  the  price  had  been  25  cents  for  all  work,  no  matter  how  light. 
But  now  came  a  10  cent  price  and  ere  long  all  the  old  draymen  left 
the  street  and  were  seen  no  more.  Some  of  them  had  become  old 
men  in  the  work,  but  the  price  for  services  was  a  knock  out.  The 
heavy  freight  lines  remain  because  there  is  a  necessity  for  them,  but 
the  old  liners  were  all  off  the  street  within  a  year  after  the  coming 
of  the  parcel  delivery.  Mr.  Mcllvaine,  the  originator  of  the  parcel 
delivery,  had  a  paralytic  stroke  in  1896,  but  recovered  and  went  on 
the  street  again,  but  in  the  spring  of  1905  had  become  so  infirm  that 
he  went  to  the  Soldiers'  Home,  at  Milwaukee,  where  he  died  in 
August  last.  Such  has  been  the  evolution  of  the  street  teaming  service 
in  Fond  du  Lac  from  the  beginning.  W^hat  the  future  of  it  may  be 
no  one  can  tell. 

T.  S.  Henry  began  the  free  delivery  of  goods  from  stores,  from 
his  flour  and  feed  store.  E.  C.  Tompkins,  under  firm  name  of  Davis 
&  Co.,  was  the  first  grocery  to  take  up  free  delivery. 


It  was  by  giving  the  heavy  bonds  for  County  Treasurers  elect 
and  saving  them  this  annoyance,  that  Robert  A.  Baker  secured  the 
control  of  county  money  so  many  years. 


160  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 

Passenger  Transportation. 

The  railroads,  the  number  of  them,  running  in  every  direction, 
has  so  stimulated  travel  that  people  of  early  times  can  only  think 
and  wonder.  Fifty  years  ago  with  a  population  of  about  6,000,  the 
ordinary  passenger  business  of  Fond  du  Lac  was  easily  managed  by 
a  small  steamboat  on  Lake  Winnebago,  one  stage  coach  a  day  to 
Sheboygan  and  a  mud  wagon  stage  to  Milwaukee.  The  steamboat 
was  never  crowded,  the  Sheboygan  stage  might  have  six  passengers 
but  often  one  or  two,  while  the  normal  condition  of  the  Milwaukee 
stage  was  emptiness.  A  total  of  twenty  passengers  a  day  would 
be  the  average.  There  were  occasions  and  seasons  when  the  travel 
was  much  greater,  but  this  was  not  far  from  the  average  up  to  the 
time  that  the  railroads  came.  People  of  the  present  time  may  ask, 
what  did  the  people  do?  The  answer  is  they  stayed  at  home  or 
traveled  with  horses  and  ox  teams.  How  enormous  has  been  the 
increase  by  the  coming  of  the  railroads.  In  this  year  of  1905  we  have 
twenty-three  passenger  trains  going  north  and  twenty-three  going 
south,  a  total  of  forty-six  passenger  trains  every  day  over  our  rail- 
roads. These  trains  have  two  to  eight  passenger  cars  each  and  the 
cars  have  seats  for  thirty-two  to  seventy-two  passengers.  A  gentle- 
man of  this  city  connected  with  the  railroads,  estimates  that  800 
people  are  carried  into  and  out  of  Fond  du  Lac  every  day  in  the 
local  traffic  alone.  The  trains  carry  many  thousands.  Fifty  years 
ago  two  stages  managed  the  entire  passenger  business  between 
Green  Bay,  Fond  du  Lac  and  Milwaukee.  How  many  would  be  re- 
quired now?  In  1850  the  stages  between  Milwaukee  and  Fond  du 
Lac,  consumed  twelve  to  twenty-four  hours.  Fifty  years  later  the 
time  required  between  the  two  cities  was  reduced  to  less  than  two 
hours.  The  fare  has  been  reduced  about  one-third.  To  Milwaukee 
it  was  $3.50,  now  it  is  $1.90.  The  time  used  to  be  uncertain,  now  it 
is  almost  to  the  tick  of  the  watch. 


A  Cow  That  Walked  In. 

Up  to  nearly  i860,  all  domestic  animals  were  allowed  to  run  at 
large,  including  pigs,  and  it  was  a  cow  owned  by  J.  C.  Clunn  that 
started  the  agitation  that  resulted  in  the  passage  of  an  ordinance  re- 
quiring them  to  be  kept  off  the  streets.  This  cow  owned  by  Mr. 
Clunn  was  a  genius  at  opening  gates,  large  or  small,  hooked  or 
latched.  She  would  patiently  work  at  a  gate  with  her  horns  until 
she  opened  it,  no  matter  how  fastened.  She  was  seldom  or  never 
known  to  abandon  a  job  when  once  undertaken,  no  matter  how  many 
hours  it  required.  She  had  seen  the  fine  pasture  and  garden  truck 
inside  the  enclosure  and  she  was  determined  to  get  to  it.  Driving  her 
away  was  not  effectual,  for  she  promptly  returned  when  the  coast 
was  clear,  and  went  at  it  again  as  calmly  as  before.  During  the  days 
she  pastured  along  the  streets  and  at  night  in  the  yards  and  gardens, 
and  as  the  owner  would  do  nothing,  relief  came  only  by  the  passage 
of  the  ordinance,  ever  since  in  force. 


FREE  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


A  Fond  du  Lac  Institution  Established  in  1876,  Now  Occupies  Its 

Own    Beautiful    Building    and    is    the 

Pride  of  the  City. 


The  presentation  of  $30,000  to  the  Fond  du  Lac  Public  Library 
by  Andrew  Carnegie  in  1902,  the  raising  of  $6,000  from  citizens  by 
the  Woman's  Club  for  the  purchase  of  the  Eldredge  property  at  the 
corner  of  Sheboygan  and  Portland  streets  as  a  site  for  the  building, 
the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  in  June,  1903.  in  which  the  Woman's 
Club  took  conspicuous  part,  the  completion  of  the  building  and 
moving  the  library  into  it  in  November,  1904,  the  dedication  in 
January,  1905,  and  an  address  by  Reuben  G.  Thwaites,  are  all  inter- 
esting and  important  events  in  the  history  of  Fond  du  Lac.  During 
the  time  that  the  building  was  being  erected,  the  library  board  con- 
sisted of  F.  B.  Hoskins,  President;  John  Heath,  Vice-President;  J. 
W.  Watson,  Secretary;  C.  A.  Galloway,  Treasurer,  and  E.  R.  Herren, 
O.  H.  Ecke,  L.  A.  Williams,  AVilliam  Wilson,  Miss  Elizabeth  Waters 
and  Mrs.  L.  A.  Bishop.     The  committee  that  had  the  work  in  charge 


162  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

during  the  construction  of  the  building,  consisted  of  Maj.  E.  R. 
Herren,  John  Heath  and  C.  A.  Galloway.  Mr.  Hoskins  is  dead  and 
five  of  the  above  named  members  having  resigned,  the  library  board 
at  this  date,  October  15,  1905,  is  as  follows:  E.  R.  Herren,  President; 
O.  H.  Ecke,  Vice-President ;  William  Wilson,  Secretary ;  J.  C.  Whit- 
telsey,  Dr.  G.  T.  jMcDougall,  Harvey  Durand,  Maurice  Fitz- 
simons,  Jr.,  Miss  Elizabeth  Waters,  Mrs.  Waldo  Sweet.  Since 
organization  in  its  present  form  as  a  Public  Library  in  1876,  there 
have  been  but  two  librarians,  the  first  Miss  Augusta  Ball  and  since 
1882,  Miss  Emma  Rose.  The  present  operating  force  or  employes 
are,  Miss  Emma  Rose,  Librarian,  Miss  Mamie  Lamb,  Miss  Jean 
Dodd  and  Miss  Mamie  E.  Bechaud,  Assistants,  John  Preiss,  Janitor. 
A.  T.  Glaze  has  quarters  in  the  public  document  room,  in  behalf  of 
the  old  settlers.  Besides  the  $36,000  above  mentioned  as  contributed 
for  building  and  site,  the  city  added  $13,000,  making  the  total  cost 
$49,000. 

Exclusive  of  magazines  and  books  with  paper  covers,  the  library 
now  has  22,000  volumes  on  its  shelves,  and  the  number  is  constantly 
increasing.  Every  department  of  literature  is  represented  and  new 
books  of  interest  are  secured  as  fast  as  published.  Currant  magazines 
and  many  leading  papers  are  to  be  found  on  the  tables  of  the  large 
reading  room.  Few  libraries  are  as  well  supplied  with  books  for 
reference.  In  the  second  story  of  the  building  is  a  very  nice  assembly 
room,  well  furnished,  for  meetings,  and  on  the  Portland  street  front 
is  an  interesting  museum  in  which  is  displayed  the  many  curios  col- 
lected by  Mrs.  Bass  and  others.  In  this  year  of  1905,  the  Public 
Library  has  become  a  place  of  great  interest  as  well  to  outsiders  as 
to  citizens.  It  is  open  every  day,  except  Sunday,  from  9  a.  m.  to 
9  p.  m,  and  during  the  winter  months  is  open  Sunday  afternoons  from 
3  to  5  :30. 

Since  its  organization,  the  library  has  had  rooms  in  four  places, 
but  it  is  now  anchored  where  it  is  hoped  it  will  stay.  In  1875  the 
Young  Men's  Association  and  the  Neocasmian  Society  having  seem- 
ingly tired  of  responsibility  if  not  of  existence,  transferred  their 
libraries  to  the  city  for  a  free  public  library.  The  Neocasmians  gave 
up  their  lease  of  what  is  now  known  as  P.  C.  A.  Hall,  and  the  library 
continued  there  a  short  time,  when  the  rooms  over  Plank's  drug 
store  were  fitted  up  for  the  library  and  it  continued  there  seven  years. 
Early  in  1884,  the  library  was  moved  to  the  rooms  lately  occupied 
on  Main  street.  The  building,  now  owned  by  Wm.  McDermott,  was 
erected  in  1883  by  Mr.  John  McDonald  and  Gen.  Black,  of  Chicago, 
with  the  understanding  that  the  entire  second  floor  should  be  fitted 
up  for  library  purposes.  Here  it  remained  just  twenty  years,  when 
it  was  moved  into  the  present  building  owned  by  the  city^and  one  of 
the  best  of  its  class  in  the  state. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Frank  B.  Hoskins,  September  18,  1905,  is  a 
great  loss  to  the  Public  Library.  He  was  long  president  of  the 
library  board  and  took  an  active  interest  in  all  its  affairs.  His  in- 
fluence was  great  and  his  judgment  reliable. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  163 

The  first  attempt  at  a  reading  room  in  Fond  du  Lac  was  by 
Edward  Beeson,  Van  B.  Smead.  Wesley  Curtis,  A.  T.  Glaze  and 
Misses  Fidelia  Boardman  and  Delphina  Cortelyou,  and  was  in  the 
upper  room  of  the  old  John  Marshall  building,  about  where  Cheg- 
win's  furniture  store  is  now,  on  East  Second  street.  Mr,  IMarshall 
gave  the  use  of  the  room  and  newspapers,  magazines  and  other 
reading  matter  were  carried  there  from  the  Journal  ofHce.  Books 
were  lent  by  citizens.  There  was  no  librarian,  but  the  door  Avas  open 
at  all  times  for  people  to  come  and  go  as  they  pleased.  Reading 
matter  was  by  no  means  as  plentiful  then  as  now.  and  for  a  long 
time  this  cosy  reading  room  was  frequented  by  readers.  The  rooms 
were  used  two  summers,  but  the  people  failing  to  contribute  for 
fuel  and  lights,  it  was  closed  in  winter  and  finally  dropped  or  rather 
died  from  lack  of  interest  in  it  by  the  people  whose  duty  it  was  to 
help  it. 


A  Few  Remarkable  Years. 

The  }ears  1851,  1867,  1885  and  the  present  year  1905,  were  re- 
markable for  rain  and  wet.  In  1851  it  was  so  wet  that  only  oats  was 
got  into  the  ground  successfully,  and  that  fall  oats  was  sold  in  Fond 
du  Lac  for  eight  and  ten  cents  a  bushel.  There  was  an  over  supply. 
1867  was  very  wet  and  in  the  fall  stacking  was  so  delayed  that 
shocks  of  wheat  were  green  with  sprouts.  The  corn  was  drowned 
out  and  barley  and  oats  rviined.  In  1885  corn  was  planted  two  or 
three  times  but  yet  failed.  Small  grain  also  failed.  The  present  year 
of  1905  we  all  know  about.  Floods  and  storms  have  ruled.  There 
has  been  but  very  few  weeks  without  storms.  During  these  fifty 
years  there  have  been  other  wet  seasons,  but  these  are  on  record. 

The  deep  snows  were  in  1864  and  1882.  In  1864,  Ripon  was  at 
one  time  thirteen  days  without  a  mail.  Fond  du  Lac  had  a  like  ex- 
perience but  not  so  long.  In  1882  the  snow  was  often  banked  twelve 
to  fifteen  feet  high  and  railroad  trains  were  stopped  for  days  at  a 
time. 

In  1852,  1864  and  1897  we  had  the  intense  cold.  The  cold  of 
1852  had  its  worst  demonstration  at  the  time  of  the  big  fire  between 
First  and  Second  streets.  There  was  not  a  thermometer  in  the  town 
that  could  measure  its  intensity.  The  cold  New  Years  was  January 
I,  1864.     Garden  shrubberv  and  grapes  were  frozen  to  the  ground  in 

The  "vyinter  of  long  sleighing  was  1869.  Beautiful  sleighing 
lasted  from  the  middle  of  November  to  the  middle  of  March.  In 
1883  there  was  no  sleighing  at  all.  Mr.  Alfred  Robbins,  then  in 
livery  business,  said  he  did  not  hitch  a  horse  to  a  cutter  during  the 
,  entire  winter.  It  is  remarkable  that  this  came  the  next  winter  after 
the  deep  snows. 

We  have  had  a  number  of  years  of  drouths,  some  of  them  serious. 
The  worst  was  probably  that  of  1877,  when  almost  everything  dried 
out. 


164  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Billy  Ford,  the  Stage  Man. 

William  F"ord,  known  to  everybody  in  town  and  immediate 
vicinity  as  Billy  Ford,  when  the  stage  company  was  here,  was  the 
"barn  man"  and  looked  after  everything  connected  with  the  barn. 
He  had  a  number  of  workers,  but  Billy  was  responsible  for  every- 
thing. He  was  a  very  small  man  but  could  carry  all  the  responsi- 
bility the  company  and  M.  D.  Henry,  the  agent,  could  pile  on  him. 
He  bought  and  traded  horses,  bought  all  supplies,  gave  out  tickets 
to  the  men  for  meals,  looked  after  repairs,  etc.,  but  would  never 
handle  a  cent  of  money  of  the  company.  He  sent  all  bills  to  Mr, 
Henry  to  be  paid.  He  used  to  say  he  could  stand  almost  anything 
except  to  handle  other  folk's  money.  And  he  seldom  had  a  cent  of 
his  own,  for  he  always  sent  it  away  as  soon  as  received,  so  the  boys 
could  not  borrow  it.  Yet  the  boys  all  stood  by  Billy  every  time  and 
all  the  time. 


First  Jobs  Printed. 

The  first  job  of  printing  Edward  Beeson  did  in  Fond  du  Lac  was 
of  tax  certificates  in  1848.  The  first  job  A.  T.  Glaze  did  was  a  pros- 
pectus for  the  Wisconsin  Pinery  started  at  Stevens  Point  in  1851, 
by  Gen.  Ellis.  The  first  pamphlet  job  printed  in  Fond  du  Lac  was 
the  proceedings  of  the  Wisconsin  Conference  of  the  M.  E.  Church  in 
1852.  A.  T.  Glaze  and  Walworth  Chapel  did  the  work,  binding  as 
well  as  the  printing.  The  first  colored  job  was  for  the  Globe  Hotel 
in  1853.     It  was  a  fancy  card  eleven  by  fourteen  inches  in  size. 


Old  Marr  Street  Cottage. 

At  this  date,  June  ist,  1905,  the  old  cottage  at  the  southeast 
corner  of  Marr  and  Third  streets  is  disappearing  to  give  place  to  a 
new  residence.  It  was  built  by  E.  W.  Drury  in  1849  ^^^  occupied 
by  him  until  he  moved  to  the  west  side,  on  Western  Avenue  about 
1865.  It  has  stood  there  fifty-six  years,  and  like  all  old  things,  has 
had  to  pass  away  and  give  place  to  something  new.  Through  its 
fifty-six  years  it  has  been  known  as  "The  Cottage."  It  had  been  on 
fire  twice  but  was  not  injured  beyond  repair,  though  each  time  be- 
came smaller  in  size. 

Astor  Hall  as  a  Saloon. 

The  place  kept  in  the  earl}-  time  in  Fond  du  Lac  by  Charley 
Johnson  and  known  as  Astor  Hall,  was  the  first  of  the  saloons  of 
modern  style.  It  was  a  billiard  saloon  with  a  bar,  and  a  back  room 
for  cards.  The  name  Astor  Hall  had  no  significance  except  to  locate 
the  place.  Johnson  was  a  negro  and  himself  had  little  to  do  in  run- 
ning the  saloon.  It  was  managed  by  a  little  German  whom  all 
residents  knew  as  "Gottleib."  This  German  afterward  had  a  saloon 
of  his  own,  but  was  unsuccessful  and  finally  left  town  to  reside  in 
Calumet,  where  he  ended  his  life  later  with  a  revolver. 


PIONEERS  IN  1874  AND  1904 


What  Has  Been  Done  and  What  It  Is  Aimed  To  Do  by  the  Work 
of  the  Club.    All  May  Take  Part  In  It. 


On  March  19,  1904,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Supervisor's  room 
at  the  court  house  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  an  Old  Settlers' 
Club.  Dr.  J.  W.  Burns,  of  Oakfleld,  was  elected  chairman,  and  A.  T. 
Glaze,  secretary.  F.  B.  Hoskins,  with  the  president  and  secretary, 
were  made  a  committee  on  constitution  and  by-laws.  After  this  com- 
mittee had  reported,  the  following  officers  were  elected : 

President — H.  D.  Hitt,  of  Oaktield. 

Vice-Presidents — F.  B.  Hoskins,  S.  M.  Ingalls. 

Recording  Secretary — A.  T.  Glaze. 

Corresponding  Secretary — Dr.  J.  W.  Burns. 

Treasurer — W.  A.  Meiklejohn. 

Executive  Committee — Dr.  T.  F.  Mayham,  O.  F.  Lewis,  G.  N. 
Mihills  and  the  President  and  Recording  Secretary,  ex-officio. 

The  next  meeting  was  held  April  16,  in  the  court  room  at 
the  court  house.  The  constitution  of  the  club  was  reported  and 
adopted.  There  were  many  pleasing  talks  from  members  of  the  club 
and  it  was  resolved  to  hold  a  midsummer  picnic  meeting  in  June,  the 
date  to  be  fixed  by  the  executive  committee,  but  subsequently  the 
committee  adjourned  the  meeting  to  September  2.  The  weather  was 
unfavorable  but  the  meeting  was  well  attended  and  very  interesting. 
It  was  held  in  the  fine  arts  building  at  the  fair  grounds.  Besides 
some  talks  by  old  settlers,  there  was  an  address  by  H.  E.  Swett,  a 
paper  by  Miss  Alice  Stearns,  recitations  by  Miss  Marlea  Bishop  and 
Mrs.  A.  E.  Lindsley,  and  music  by  Mrs.  Bishop,  Miss  Bishop  and 
Messrs.   Pope  and   Magnussen.     The  occasion   was  very   interesting. 

The  first  annual  meeting  was  held  in  the  council  rooms  March 
18,  1905,  all  of  the  officers  present.  All  of  the  old  officers  of  the  club 
were  re-elected  unanimously. 

Again  it  was  determined  to  hold  the  midsummer  picnic  meeting 
in  Jvtne  and  again  the  executive  committee,  on  account  of  storms, 
floods  and  bad  roads,  adjourned  it,  this  time  to  August  30,  1905. 
This  meeting  was  held  at  the  Kite  park  fair  grounds  and  was  a  grand 
success  in  every  way.  A  fine  address  was  given  by  Col.  J.  A. 
Watrous.  a  beautiful  paper  by  Mrs.  Wilcox,  of  Oakfield,  recitations 
by  Miss  Susie  Hall,  Miss  Barbara  Sweet  and  Mrs.  A.  E.  Lindsley. 
]\Iemorial  notices  were  read  of  William  Adams,  prepared  by  Franklin 
Swett,  of  R.  K.  Satterfield  bv  William  Stearns,  J.  J.  Lurvey  and  M. 
W.  Merrill  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Burns,  and  of  C.  R.  Harrison,  B.  F.  Moore, 
L.  F.  Stow,  C.  H.  DeGroat  and  Mrs.  Lyman  Bishop  by  A.  T.  Glaze. 

The  managers  of  the  Kite  track  put  on  a  couple  of  races  in  the 
afternoon  for  the  amusement  of  those  present.  This,  with  visiting, 
filled  out  the  afternoon  to  the  great  enjoyment  of  all  concerned. 


166  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

An  Old  Settler's  Club  of  this  county  was  formed  as  long  ago 
as  1874,  and  it  is  deeply  regretted  that  it  was  not  kept  at  work  from 
that  day  to  this.  The  work  is  most  important,  not  to  the  old  settlers 
only,  but  especially  to  those  who  follow  them.  The  cost  is 
trifling.  It  is  .to  be  deeply  regretted  that  the  club  work  of  the 
members  of  1874,  could  not  have  been  effectively  continued 
to  the  present  and  that  the  need  of  the  present  organization  would 
not  have  been  felt.  At  that  time  were  living  many  of  the  old  settlers 
who  had  personal  knowledge  of  people,  places  and  events  that  are 
now  lost.  Their  memories  reached  back  to  the  earliest  periods  of 
settlement  which  it  is  not  now  possible  for  us  to  reach.  Suppose 
that  we  had  the  personal  presence  of  Edward  Pier,  John  H.  Martin, 
Reuben  Simmons,  Edward  Beeson,  Henry  Bush,  Joseph  Kinsman, 
Robert  Estabrooks,  Isaac  Orvis,  Peter  V.  Sang  and  others.  They 
were  all  and  more  here  in  1874,  but  are  all  gone  now.  The  few  that 
are  left  will  soon  be  gone — there  are  left  not  exceeding  fiftv, 
all  told. 

Although  we  cannot  now"  get  at  facts  within  the  personal  knowl- 
edge of  these  older  settlers,  we  can  and  must  perpetuate  their 
memory.  We  must  not  allow  all  trace  of  these  brave  people  to  fade 
out.  We  as  their  successors,  are  reaping  the  benefits  of  their  labors 
and  privations  and  it  were  the  vilest  of  ingratitude  to  allow  them  to 
sink  in  to  forgetfulness  when  it  is  within  our  power  to  prevent  it. 
To  perpetuate  their  memory  and  show  our  gratitude  is  exactly  the 
object  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Club  of  1904. 

Will  you  help  in  the  work? 


Wheel  and  Seeder  Company. 

AMio  of  the  old  residents  does  not  well  remember  the  manufac- 
turing plant  at  the  west  end  of  Forest  street  bridge  and  known  as  the 
Wheel  and  Seeder  Company.  After  the  sawmill  had  disappeared, 
the  location  was  too  valuable  to  remain  idle,  so  Milo  Bushnell,  D. 
Y.  Sabin  and  others  erected  a  building  for  the  purpose  and  began 
the  manufacture  of  the  Fountain  City  seeder.  Two  or  three  years 
later,  in  1861,  they  began  the  manufacture  of  a  wagon  wheel,  which  it 
was  believed  would  supersede  the  Sarven  and  all  other  patent 
wheels  in  the  market.  But  like  many  other  patents,  it  proved  a  failure 
and  the  manufacture  soon  ceased.  It  was  made  long  enough  to  give 
the  plant  part  of  its  name  of  Wheel  and  Seeder  Company,  which  it 
has  borne  ever  since.  In  1874,  C.  H.  Weston  bought  the  plant  and  it 
was  thought  would  be  a  heavy  concern.  James  H.  Farnsworth  was 
made  secretary  and  manager  of  the  company,  but  Mr.  Weston  was 
unable  to  command  the  necessary  capital  to  run  it  successfully,  and 
it  maintained  a  sort  of  risky  life  until  1891,  when  it  was  sold  to  a 
LaCrosse  company  and  soon  after  moved  away.  A  new  company 
was  formed  with  James  H.  Smith  at  the  head  and  known  as  the  Fond 
du  Lac  Implement  Company,  which  has  since  continued, 


E.  A.  BRO^VN  POST  No.  130,  G.  A.  R. 


History   of   Edwin   A.    Brown    Post   No.    130,    Grand    Army    of   the 

Republic  and  of  the  Woman's  ReHef  Corps 

From   Their   Organization. 


We  are  told  by  reliable  historians  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion, 
that  the  organization  known  to  us  as  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
had  its  earliest  conception  in  the  United  States  Senate,  in  the  brain 
of  Gen.  John  A.  Logan.  He  was  able  to  inspire  others  with  an  idea 
of  its  value  in  caring  for  the  interests  and  shaping  the  social  destiny 
of  the  old  soldiers.  They  were  a  class  of  men  who  held  the  grateful 
homage  of  the  people  and  had  claims  against  a  saved  nation.  A  four 
years"  and  a  half  war,  one  of  the  most  terrible  in  all  history,  left  a 
vast  body  of  men  whose  claims  must  be  recognized,  social  as  well  as 
financial.  What  could  do  this  better  than  a  society  formed  upon 
the  plan  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  And  so  it  came  into 
existence  in  1869,  and  as  predicted,  has  been  a  power  in  the  land.' 
There  is  some  dispute  as  to  where  the  first  Post  was  organized,  but 
it  is  quite  generally  conceded  now  that  it  was  at  Springfield,  111., 
with  Gen.  Logan  present. 

Years  ago  there  was  some  dispute  about  the  organization  of  the 
first  Post  in  Wisconsin,  but  it  was  settled  that  the  first  was  organized 
by  Grifif  Thomas,  at  Berlin,  Green  Lake  County,  but  it  was  allowed 
to  lapse  and  when  started  again  had  to  take  No.  4,  which  it  still  holds. 
While  the  Berlin  Post  was  sleeping,  E.  B.  Woolcott  Post,  at  Mil- 
waukee, was  organized  as  No.  i.  There  have  been  279  Posts  in  the 
state,  but  33  have  become  extinct,  leaving  246  now  in  existence. 

One  day  in  November,  1883,  the  late  Ira  P.  Meisner  appeared 
in  the  law  office  of  Geo.  E.  Sutherland  with  a  request  that  he  draw 
up  a  petition  to  be  signed  by  such  soldiers  as  were  willing  to  join  in 
the  organization  of  a  Post  of  the  G.  A.  R.  The  request  was  complied 
with  and  Mr.  Meisner  started  out  on  his  mission  of  getting  signers. 
The  first  name  on  the  petition  was  that  of  Geo.  E.  Sutherland.  On 
the  19th  of  January.  1884,  there  were  just  fifty  signers  and  the  Post 
was  organized.     Following  are  the  names  of  the  charter  members : 


E.   S.  Bragg. 

Elihu  Colman. 

W.  M.  Moore. 

S.  L.  Brasted. 

Frank  Derusha. 

James  McMahon. 

I.   L.   Hunt. 

A.   Demorras 

J.  M.  Marsh. 

K.  M.  Adams. 

David  Dougherty. 

George   Perkins. 

J.   B.   Tripp. 

.John    Dougherty. 

J.  G.  B.  Palmer. 

Wm.  Zickerick 

John  Doud. 

G.   S.  Rock. 

S.  E.  Wade. 

A.   Fleischman. 

David   Pitcher. 

Robert  Powrie 

Prank    Gonia. 

G.    F.    Stannard. 

Frank  N.   Fox. 

G.   W.   Hines. 

A.   A.    Shepherd. 

G.  S.  Stanton. 

D.  H.  Henderson. 

C.   N.   Skinner. 

168  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

N.    Boardman.  S.  S.  Johnson.  Geo.  E.  Sutherland. 

Casper  Buechner.  H.    Jones.  S.  W.  Townsend. 

H.  M.  Bullock.  M.  B.  Killam.  L.    C.    Trowbridge. 

Max  Brugger.  John  Luhm.  Jacob  Tautges. 

D.  S.  Cole.  Michael  Mangan.  Ferd.  Meyer. 

J.  M.   Crippen.  Ira  P.   Meisner. 

H.   Chilcote.  J.  M.  Meyers. 

The  charter  is  signed  by  Phil.  Cheek,  Department  Commander, 
and  J.  H.  Whitley  as  Assistant  Adjutant  General,  and  the  Post  is 
given  the  name  of  Edwin  A.  Brown  Post  No.  130,  G.  A.  R.  The 
meetings  were  held  for  a  few  years  in  the  postoffice  block,  corner  of 
Forest  avenue  and  Macy  street,  but  moved  to  more  suitable  rooms 
at  the  corner  of  Main  and  West  Second  streets.  In  1899  ^^^  second 
story  of  the  fine  block,  corner  of  Main  and  Fourth  streets,  was 
secured  and  fitted  up  at  a  cost  of  about  $700  and  giving  the  Post 
most  comfortable  (juarters  and  among  the  best  for  the  purpose  in  the 
whole  state.  There  is  a  fine  hall,  banquet  rooms,  kitchen,  parlor, 
card  room  and  storage  room,  all  handsomely  furnished.  Here  the 
veterans  of  the  war  and  intimate  friends  meet  every  day  and  spend 
their  leisure  time  visiting  and  playing  cards.  The  Woman's  Relief 
Corps  takes  charge  of  the  banquets  and  socials,  with  frequent  enter- 
tainments. A  janitor  looks  after  the  rooms  and  it  is  always  a  neat 
and  comfortable  place  for  all  uses  intended. 

The  first  Commander  of  this  Post  was  Gen.  E.  S.  Bragg,  and  he 
has  been  succeeded  by  Col.  C.  K.  Pier,  Robert  Powrie,  Isaac  L.  Hunt, 
S.  E.  Wade,  Michaef  Mangan,  Silas  H.  Cole,  W.  A.  Reader,  William 
DeSteese,  E.  D.  Allen,  Rev.  H.  W.  Thompson,  Hiram  P.  Thompson, 
J.  F.  Wegner  and  Dr.  J.  O.  Ackerman.  This  Post  has  now  on  its 
rolls  a  total  of  127  members  in  good  standing  Since  its  organization 
in  1884,  the  Post  has  had  a  total  of  409  members.  Many  of  them 
have  gone  away,  but  the  belief  of  those  well  posted  in  its  affairs  is, 
that  fully  over  half  of  them  have  died.  Of  the  charter  members  here 
in  1884,  ^^^^  fifteen  are  members  now,  twenty-seven  have  died  and 
eight  ha\'e  gone  away.  What  the  changes  will  be  in  these  figures 
in  another  ten  years  it  is  impossible  to  determine  further  than  to  say 
that  there  will  be  a  far  greater  proportion  of  deaths.  In  this  year  of 
1905  it  is  forty-four  years  since  the  war  of  the  rebellion  began  and 
forty-eight  years  since  it  ended.  Of  those  who  took  part  in  it,  very 
few  are  less  than  65  years  of  age,  most  of  them  have  passed  the  three 
score  and  ten  limit. 

There  was  another  and  very  similar  organization  brought  here 
in  1892,  known  as  the  Union  Veteran  Legion,  but  it  had  a  brief  ex- 
istence. It  was  believed  by  many  to  be  more  of  a  political  than  social 
side,  and  like  all  organizations  of  that  nature  could  not  last  long. 
Its  membership  was  never  large. 

Woman's  Relief  Corps. 

Only  those  who  for  special  reasons  have  become  familiar  with 
it,  have  anything  like  a  proper  conception  of  the  work  done  by  this 
organization.     Its  charitable  work  alone  gives  it  high  standing  in  the 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  169 

community.  It  is  at  work  all  the  time  in  some  part  of  the  field 
covered  by  the  G.  A.  R.  While  it  gives  aid  to  the  Grand  Army,  its 
main  effort  is  in  charity  and  old  soldiers  and  their  families  are  the 
special  objects  of  it.  No  matter  how  much  labor  is  involved,  the 
members  are  at  all  times  ready  to  meet  it.  On  April  28.  1886,  Edwin 
A.  Brown  Corps  No.  35,  Woman's  Relief  Corps,  was  organized  with 
the  following  charter  members : 

Ruth   R.    Harvey.  Lillie  J.   Killam.  Emeline   L.   Perkins. 

Ella   L.    Adams.  Hattie  B.   Sackett.  Ellen   Mangan. 

Susie  M.  Dodge.  Alice  M.  Burrows.  Elizabeth    Powrie. 

Emma  C.  Wade.  Ellen  F.   Adamson.  Sedate  S.  McEwen. 

Mary  R.  Fox.  Lottie  H.  Everett. 

Josephine  DeGroat.  Theodosia    A.    Brasted. 

The  Corps  was  instituted  by  Mrs.  Ellen  Rogers,  Department 
President,  and  Mrs.  Sophia  Nelson,  Department  Secretary.  Mrs. 
Ruth  R.  Harvey  was  the  first  President  and  at  two  different  times 
held  the  office  four  years.  Mrs.  Josephine  DeGroat  came  second  and 
held  the  position  seven  years  at  two  different  periods.  Then  came 
Mrs.  Helen  P.  Phelps,  Mrs.  Martha  Hurlbut  and  Mrs.  Amanda  C. 
Wheeler  with  terms  of  two  years  each,  and  Mrs.  Hannah  Coffman 
will  have  served  two  years  as  President,  on  completion  of  the  present 
year.  The  Corps  has  one  important  officer  that  the  general  public 
knows  almost  nothing  about.  This  office  is  known  to  the  members 
of  the  Corps  as  "Patriotic  Instructor,"  and  it  is  her  special  work  to 
see  that  the  United  States  Flag  is  placed  in  every  schoolroom  and 
to  talk  to  the  children  about  the  flag,  abotit  our  wars  and  the  part 
taken  in  them  by  the  old  soldiers.  In  short  her  mission  is  to  awaken 
a  patriotic  spirit  in  the  minds  of  the  young.  Mrs.  Helen  Clock  now 
holds  that  position  and  has  done  much  work  in  the  schools.  It  is 
the  desire  of  the  Corps  to  so  familiarize  the  young  with  the  flag  that 
it  shall  be  venerated  more  in  the  future  than  it  has  been  in  the  past. 

The  Corps  seems  to  be  composed  of  women  not  only  willing  but 
anxious  to  work  in  every  corner  of  the  field  of  patriotic  endeavor, 
and  on  the  tenth  anniversary  of  the  Corps'  a  detailed  report  was  made 
showing  the  charity  work  done  up  to  that  time,  and  it  was  a  most 
creditable  showing,  but  the  relief  work  has  materially  increased  since 
that  report  was  made.  This  is  but  one  item,  however,  in  the  work 
of  this  band  of  noble  women.  They  have  raised  the  money,  bought 
and  paid  for  the  furnishings  of  their  parlor,  including  a  $500  piano 
for  use  at  entertainments,  have  put  into  the  clipboards  all  the 
crockery  and  silver  needed  for  their  tables,  furnished  the  kitchen 
with  every  appliance  needed,  besides  much  miscellaneous  work  and 
bearing  the  responsibility  and  expense  in  decorations  every  year. 
All  this  they  have  raised  the  money  and  paid  for  by  their  own  efforts. 

This  is  what  the  W.  R.  C.  has  done  and  is  doing  almost  without 
the  knowledge  of  the  people  generally.  The  organization  is 
auxiliary  to  the  G.  A.  R.  and  nobly  does  it  work  to  carry  out  its 
objects.  The  members  of  the  G.  A.  R.  and  W.  R.  C.  are  now  rapidly 
passing  away.  W^ill  their  children  come  to  the  front  and  keep  their 
memorv  g-reen?     Onlv  the  future  can  tell. 


170  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

The  Railroad  Was  Extended. 

When  the  proposition  was  made  to  extend  the  Sheboygan  & 
Fond  dn  Lac  Railroad  from  Fond  du  Lac  to  Princeton  in  i869-'70, 
it  produced  considerable  commotion,  especially  at  Ripon,  because 
$30,000  in  city  bonds  was  asked  for  and  it  was  foreseen  that  Ripon 
would  also  have  its  share  to  pay  of  endorsed  county  orders  demanded 
of  the  county,  to  double  that  amount.  A  number  of  prominent 
citizens  of  that  city,  among  them  G.  N.  Lyman,  E.  L.  Northrup,  J. 
C.  Lightburn,  Wm.  Workman,  D.  F.  Shepard,  K.  Lindsley,  Wm. 
Starr  and  others  opposed  the  proposition  on  the  ground  that  it  would 
ruin  the  western  business  of  the  city  and  their  contention  was  cor- 
rect as  shown  by  subsequent  experience.  The  proposition  carried 
and  in  six  months  all  could  see  the  effect.  Five  elevators,  all  of  them 
busy,  were  locked  and  windows  boarded  up  six  months  after  the 
road  was  extended.  The  effect  produced  was,  that  nearly  all  the 
produce  that  Ripon  had  before,  from  as  far  west  as  Germania,  in 
Green  Lake  and  Marquette  counties,  was  now  shipped  at  Princeton, 
St.  Marie  and  Dartford,  and  Ripon  saw  none  of  it.  All  the  buyers 
were  out  of  the  market  but  one  or  two.  The  vast  amount  of  grain, 
wool,  pork  and  other  produce  were  no  longer  marketed  at  Ripon, 
and  buyers  of  goods  went  to  Fond  du  Lac  or  Oshkosh,  where  there 
were  larger  stocks  to  select  from  and  possibly  cheaper  prices.  It  is 
certain  that  Ripon  felt  the  effect  for  some  years,  until  matters  were 
adjusted  by  a  sort  of  cause  and  effect.  Before  the  extension  an  old 
gentleman  named  Card,  a  shoemaker,  had  his  shop  on  the  brow  of 
the  hill  and  all  teams  from  the  west  must  pass  it.  On  his  shoe  bench 
he  had  little  boxes  into  which  he  would  drop  a  shoe  peg  for  each 
load  "of  grain,  wool,  pork,  etc.,  from  which  Mr.  Glaze  each  week 
gathered  a  local  item  for  the  Commonwealth.  After  the  extension 
there  was  no  further  use  for  Mr.  Card's  boxes.  No  produce  worth 
while,  came  up  that  hill  from  the  west — it  was  all  inside  of  cars  on 
the  railroad.  No  doubt  the  time  was  coming  that  this  would  have 
been  the  result  anyhow,  but  it  was  tough  on  Ripon  to  have  it  come 
at  that  time.  The  "I  told  you  so"  gentlemen  were  correct  for  the 
time,  but  not  for  all  time. 

Princeton.  Dartford  and  Fond  du  Lac  of  course  profited  at  the 
time  and  for  all  time.  The  road  could  not  be  stopped  at  Ripon,  as 
so  many  desired.  It  must  go  on  west  and  the  inevitable  was  just 
where  it  did  go.  It  was  not  in  the  order  of  things  to  do  anything 
else.  One  of  the  things  for  Ripon  to  be  proud  of  is  the  settlement 
of  all  the  bonded  debts.  Not  only  the  $30,000  of  the  Sheboygan  road, 
the  $15,000  of  the  Oshkosh  line,  known  at  the  time  it  was  built  as  the 
Oshkosh  &  Mississippi,  and  the  readjusted  bonds  of  the  St.  Paul 
road.  ]\Ir.  Geo.  L.  Field  was  early  appointed  financial  agent  of  the 
city,  and  by  good  management  wiped  them  out  almost  at  the  begin- 
ning and  the  annoyance  ceased.  Few  cities  in  the  state  had  their 
bonded  debts  so  thoroughly  and  so  smoothly  wiped  out  as  Ripon, 
The  only  feature  more  desirable  would  have  been  never  to  have  had 
them  at  all. 


A  FEW  MURDERS 


A   Few   of   the    Noted   Murders   in   the   Past.    Not    Many    Deeds   of 
Violence  Here,  But  Maybe  Our  Share. 


The  murders  here  and  in  this  vicinity  in  the  earlier  years  were 
mostly  perpetrated  by  Indians,  but  all  through  the  years  there  were 
occasional  crimes  which  John  A.  Eastman  called  "civilized  murders." 
About  1868  a  body  was  found  on  the  then  Lyman  Phillips  farm, 
now  the  sanitarium,  east  of  the  city,  and  a  little  later,  one  on  the 
present  Ingalls  farm,  but  the  perpetrator  was  never  found.  In  1870, 
a  riverman  named  Nathan  Young,  was  on  his  way  north  to  assist  in 
running  logs  on  Wolf  River.  One  morning  his  body  was  found  in 
the  Ingram  woods  near  Linden  street.  The  crime  was  traced  to  a 
colored  man  then  here,  named  Fred  Williams.  He  was  tried  in  cir- 
cuit court  before  Judge  McLean,  was  found  guilty  and  sentenced 
to  life  imprisonment.  J.  W.  Bass  was  the  District  Attorney  and 
Williams  was  defended  by  Col.  C.  K.  Pier.  The  case  went  to  the 
supreme  court,  resulting  in  a  discharge,  on  the  ground  that  the 
court  in  the  information  did  not  declare  the  offense  to  be  against  the 
peace  and  dignity  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  as  directed  in  the  con- 
stitution. Few  doubted  the  guilt  of  Williams,  and  many  charged  the 
two  previously  mentioned  mvirders  to  him.  The  body  of  a  man  with 
■one  wooden  leg,  was  found  in  the  west  branch  near  the  present  St. 
Pavd  railroad  bridge,  but  he  may  have  been  drowned.  ^'Villiams 
froze  his  feet,  it  was  thought,  in  pursuit  of  another  crime,  gangrene 
set  in  and  he  died  from  it. 

But  the  murder  to  arouse  the  most  feeling  of  any  in  this  com- 
munity, was  the  Prinslow  murder  in  1897.  Mr.  Prinslow  was  a 
policeman  and  was  shot  by  a  fleeing  tramp,  while  he  was  on  the 
railroad  track  west  of  the  Buell  Anderson  machinery  warehouse,  on 
West  Second  street.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  murder,  George  Seitz, 
then  proprietor  of  the  Forest  avenue  livery  barn,  had  indiscreetly 
exhibited  a  roll  of  money  which  three  tramps  resolved  to  get  posses- 
sion of.  In  the  evening  they  assaulted  Seitz  near  his  office  at  the 
west  end  of  Forest  avenue  bridge.  Before  the  tramps  could  do 
effective  work,  he  made  so  much  noise  and  jumped  the  railing  to 
the  bank  of  the  river  so  he  could  not  be  reached,  and  they  ran  south 
on  the  track  without  the  money  or  any  part  of  it.  Officer  Prinslow, 
on  his  way  to  the  police  station  to  go  on  duty,  saw  the  running 
tramps  and  called  a  halt,  but  one  of  them  fired  a  heavy  revolver  and 
the  officer  fell  and  died  before  morning.  The  most  active  efiforts 
failed  to  capture  the  tramps,  but  a  man  named  Lonergan  was  taken 
at  Jefferson  Junction  and  District  Attorney  Reilly  succeeded  in  con- 
victing him  of  the  crime.  He  was  sent  to  prison  by  Judge  Kirwan, 
but  in  a  subsequent  revival  of  the  case  by  the  supreme  court,  it  was 


172  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

held  that  the  evidence  was  insufficient  and  the  prisoner  was  dis- 
charged. This  was  doubtless  the  most  exciting  murder  in  the 
history  of  Fond  du  Lac,  and  it  is  to  be  deplored  that  no  one  was 
punished  for  it.  And  it  was  all  caused  by  a  very  foolish  exhibition 
of  a  roll  of  money. 

An  event  took  place  here  in  the  early  times  which  gave  rise  to 
much  talk  among  old  settlers.  Two  men  came  here  with  considerable 
money  which  they  wished  to  invest  in  pine  land.  One  of  them  went 
to  Eau  Claire,  the  other  went  north  from  here  accompanied  by  a  well 
known  citizen.  The  skeleton  and  clothes  of  the  one  from  here  were 
found  between  Waupaca  and  Stevens  Point,  being  recognized  by  a 
paper  written  for  him  by  Judge  Flint,  before  leaving  here.  The  man 
who  went  with  him  was  able  to  show  that  he  left  him  at  Weyauwega 
and  went  to  New  London,  but  of  course  there  was  much  talk.  The 
murderer,  no  matter  who,  got  but  little  money,  as  he  left  most  of  it 
here  in  charge  of  Judge  Flint.  It  was  afterwards  learned  that  the 
man  who  went  to  Eau  Claire,  lost  his  life  in  the  woods  of  Chippewa 
county,  at  the  hands  of  some  one  unknown. 

In  the  past  we  have  had  several  more  murders,  but  not  of  much 
notoriety.  In  cuttings  and  slashings  with  knives  and  razors,  we  have 
had  our  full  share  and  which  bring  the  average  to  as  high  a  mark  as 
that  of  our  neighbors.  And  of  domestic  troubles  ending  in  poison 
and  other  quiet  means,  we  have  had  our  share.  In  the  country,  that 
is  in  the  towns,  there  has  been  a  singular  freedom  from  violence. 

The  most  noted  shooting  the  city  has  had  and  that  which  produced 
the  most  feeling,  was  that  in  which  Robert  Baker  shot  Gen.  C.  S. 
Hamilton,  in  1864.  It  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  election  of  officers 
of  the  Young  Men's  Association,  at  their  rooms  on  the  east  side  of 
Main  street,  between  Second  and  Third,  and  occurred  in  the  stair- 
way. The  men  had  not  been  friends  for  a  long  time,  and  tantalizing 
remarks  were  exchanged  as  they  met.  Baker  said  that  Hamilton 
made  a  motion  of  reaching  for  his  revolver  and  he  did  not  propose 
to  let  him  get  the  drop  on  him,  and  pulled  his  gun  quickly  and  fired. 
Gen.  Hamilton  was  laid  up  several  months,  so  it  is  presumed  Baker 
meant  more  than  a  scare.  This  is  one  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  events  that 
it  was  always  difficult  to  get  truth.  Legal  proceedings  were  begun 
but  finally  dropped. 

In  the  presidential  election  of  1872,  it  was  not  generally  known 
and  there  has  been  no  occasion  for  it  to  be  known  since,  that  United 
States  Senator  Matt.  H.  Carpenter  and  the  late  Geo.  F.  Wheeler 
were  bitter  personal  enemies.  On  the  occasion  of  a  big  republican 
meeting  in  Fond  du  Lac,  Carpenter  was  one  of  the  speakers  and  the 
constant  efforts  of  Dana  C.  Lamb,  H.  S.  Town,  Geo.  D.  Curtis  and 
others  were  required  to  keep  the  men  from  meeting  face  to  face.  It 
was  known  that  both  were  armed  and  trouble  was  feared.  To  the 
credit  of  both  be  it  said,  that  in  after  years  they  became  reconciled. 
But  there  was  trouble  in  the  air  on  the  day  above  alluded  to.  The 
late  B.  H.  Bettis  had  much  to  do  in  bringing  this  about. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  173 

Success  in  Politics. 

In  times  past  Fond  du  Lac  county  has  had  many  men  noted  for 
success  in  politics.     Among  them  were : 

M.  C.  Darling.  A.  M.  Skeels.  James  Coleman. 

John   Bannister.  H.   S.   Town.  G.  E.   Sutherland. 

Warren    Chase.  T.  W.    Spence.  J.  C.   Lewis. 

William    Starr.  Joseph    Wagner.  B.    Pinkney. 

Peter  V.   Sang.  F.   D.  McCarty.  G.  W.  Carter. 

Geo.  F.  Wheeler.  Edward    S.    Bragg.  N.  W.  Thayer. 

A.  C.  Whiting.  S.  M.   Smead.  E.   H.    Galloway. 

B.  H.  Bettis.  H.  C.  Batterson.  F.  B.  Hoskins. 
Dana  C.  Lamb.  David  Whitton.  Chas.  Bartlett. 
Samuel   W.    Beal.  Elihu  Colman.  E.  Colman. 

C.  D.   Gage.  Owen  A.  Wells.  C.  K.  Pier. 
Jerre  Dobbs.  Chas.  A.   Eldredge. 

These  men  all  had  much  to  do  with  state,  congressional  and 
county  politics.  The  only  state  officer  this  county  has  had  was  Geo. 
F.  Wheeler  as  State  Prison  Commissioner. 

Dr.  M.  C.  Darling  was  not  a  politician,  but  his  position  in  the 
community  caused  him  to  hold  many  offices  and  to  go  to  the  legis- 
lature and  to  congress. 

John  Bannister  was  a  good  writer  and  very  active,  hence  was 
often  pushed  into  office  by  the  early  settlers,  often  holding  many 
offices  at  the  same  time.  It  is  said  of  him  that  he  never  refused  an 
office. 

Charles  A.  Eldredge  held  the  distinction  of  serving  six  terms,  or 
twelve  years,  in  congress,  and  Gen.  Bragg  four  terms,  or  eight  years. 
Both  had  been  members  of  the  state  senate  and  district  attorney  of 
the  county.  Gen.  Bragg  was  Minister  to  Mexico  and  is  now  Constil 
General  at  Hong  Kong,  China. 

S.  M.  Smead  seldom  went  before  the  people  himself,  but  he  was 
distinguished  for  being  the  most  sagacious  politician  and  manager 
the  county  ever  had.  In  a  convention  he  generally  managed  to 
carry  his  point,  and  if  defeat  was  likely  he  could  smell  it  afar  ofif. 
He  was  truly  a  political  genius. 

Hiram  S.  Town,  Dana  C.  Lamb,  James  Coleman,  Owen  A. 
Wells,  Jerre  Dobbs  and  Jo.  Wagner  were  recognized  political  bosses. 
That  is,  they  took  caucuses  and  conventions  under  their  wings  and 
flew  away  with  them. 

Foncl  du  Lac  has  always  had  many  strong  and  worthy  men  who 
could  not  be  induced  to  take  part  in  politics.  Among  them  were  such 
men  as  C.  R.  Harrison,  B.  F.  Moore,  H.  K.  Laughlin,  J.  C.  Whittelsey, 
C.  J.  Pettibone  and  others. 

There  was  another  class  of  men  who,  though  prominent  in  the 
community,  seldom  or  never  were  seen  at  caucuses  or  conventions, 
and  were  not  office  seekers.  Such  men  as  these  were  Edward  Beeson, 
J.  A.  Smith,  Royal  Buck,  George  Swift,  Charles  Blankenburg,  Esek 
Dexter,  Kirkland  Gillet,  J.  H.  Spencer,  Benj.  Wild,  Mark  R.  Har- 
rison, James  Ewen  and  others. 


174  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Trouble  About  Type. 

In  early  times  Eli  Hooker  had  a  small  job  printing  office  at 
Waupun,  and  as  showing  how  important  a  few  type  are  when  diffi- 
cult to  obtain,  it  may  be  stated  here  that  A,  T.  Glaze  drove  over  to 
Waupun  one  night  from  Fond  du  Lac,  to  obtain  a  few  figure  ones, 
fives  and  ciphers  of  the  size  known  to  printers  as  brevier,  with  which 
to  complete  the  setting  of  a  tax  list.  We  could  now  get  those  figures 
in  two  hours  from  Milwaukee  and  in  five  hours  from  Chicago,  but 
time  cut  no  figure  then,  as  they  were  not  on  sale  there  then  and 
could  not  be  obtained  at  all.  But  worst  of  all,  the  Hooker  figures 
were  from  another  type  foundry  and  not  being  cast  in  the  same  mold, 
did  not,  what  printers  call  "justify,"  and  had  to  be  lined  with  card 
board  and  paper.  Present  day  type  setters  might  not  know  how  to 
meet  such  an  emergency,  but  the  old  timers  were  ready  for  almost  any- 
thing. They  could  and  did  manage  to  meet  emergencies  of  all  sorts 
successfully.     They  just  had  to  do  it. 


Not  Anxious  for  Office. 

The  three  men  most  difficult  in  the  history  of  Fond  du  Lac  to 
get  to  accept  office  were  B.  F.  Moore,  C.  R.  Harrison  and  H.  K. 
Laughlin.  Mr.  Moore  accepted  the  office  of  Member  of  Assembly  in 
1852,  to  beat  Jo.  Wagner,  but  could  not  be  induced  to  run  for  any 
office  after  that.  Mr.  Harrison,  after  much  solicitation,  consented  to 
allow  his  name  to  be  used  for  Mayor  in  1887  and  was  elected,  but 
went  back  on  office  holding  after  that,  and  came  near  resigning  as 
mayor  before  the  end  of  his  term.  In  the  council  and  fire  depart- 
ment he  served  once  or  twice  in  early  times  only  because  of  local 
interests.  Mr.  Laughlin  could  not  be  induced  at  any  period  or  for 
any  reason  to  be  a  candidate  for  office.  James  B.  Perry  is  another 
man  who  never  allowed  his  name  to  be  used  in  connection  with  office. 
Many  people  believe  that  every  citizen  should  do  his  full  share  of  the 
work  in  governing  city,  county  and  state,  but  there  are  more  than 
enough  anxious  to  assume  the  duties  which  are  distasteful  to  others. 


Edward  Beeson  as  an  Editor. 

During  all  the  years  that  he  was  the  editor  and  writer  for  the 
Fond  du  Lac  Journal,  Edward  Beeson  was  a  democrat,  but  this  does 
not  mean  that  he  was  a  copperhead  or  a  defender  of  slavery.  He 
did  not  object  to  a  tarifif  for  revenue,  but  a  protective  tariff  he  believed 
to  be  wrong  in  principle  and  bad  in  results.  His  democracy  did  not 
carry  him  into  extremes  and  those  nearest  to  him  believed  that  he 
voted  for  Abraham  Lincoln  in  i860  and  again  in  1864,  because  he  be- 
lieved him  to  be  a  man  possessed  of  common  sense.  Although  a  tariff 
defender,  Lincoln  was  regarded  as  a  safer  man  for  the  country  in  the 
then  pending  emergency.  Mr,  Beeson  was  a  great  admirer  of 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  but  he  was  not  a  safe  man  although  in  some 
respects  a  brilliant  one. 


THE  LITERARY  FIELD 


The  Noted  Early  Days'  Writers  and  Their  Field  of  Mental  Effort. 
Some   Fine   Productions. 


In  the  early  days  of  this  county  there  was  a  far  greater  demand 
for  something  to  eat  and  wear  than  for  poetry  or  fine  writing  of  any 
sort,  yet  there  were  a  few  people  here  with  the  mental  capacity  equiv- 
alent to  real  genius.  With  his  weekly  newspaper  of  very  limited 
circulation  in  a  new  country,  there  was  little  to  develop  editorial 
genius,  but  the  old  files  in  the  public  library  show  some  clever  work. 
In  the  files  of  a  court  of  record  may  be  thought  a  queer  place  to  look 
for  literary  ability,  but  it  may  be  often  found  with  pleadings  on  file 
before  the  adoption  of  the  code  practice  in  Wisconsin  in  1856.  Pre- 
vious to  that  year  Wisconsin  had  the  old  common  law  practice, 
which  means  a  proceedure  and  system  of  laws  to  which  the  memory 
of  living  men  runneth  not  to  the  contrary.  While  the  common  law 
pleadings  were  often  remarkably  verbose  and  tiresome,  they  often 
possessed  a  high  degree  of  literary  merit.  Some  of  the  pleadings  by 
Charles  A.  Eldredge,  David  E.  Wood,  Carson  Graham,  J.  M.  Gillet, 
W.  C.  Dodge,  Erastus  W.  Drury  and  others,  may  be  spoken  of  as  of 
this  character. 

Joseph  Stow  was  the  first  person  known  to  have  indulged  in 
verse  in  Fond  du  Lac.  He  had  a  wonderful  faculty  for  rhyming  and 
could  grind  out  verse  after  verse  on  almost  any  subject.  It  could 
hardly  be  called  poetry — it  was  doggerel,  though  occasionally  he  pro- 
duced pieces  of  some  merit.  If  he  became  deeply  interested  in  any 
local  matter,  doggerel  poetry  was  pretty  sure  to  follow. 

Miss  Libbie  Farnsworth,  under  the  non  de  plume  of  Nellie 
Wildwood,  was  first  to  produce  verse  here  possessed  of  genuine 
poetical  merit.  She  wrote  many  short  poems  of  merit,  her 
"Nil  Desperandum"  (never  despair),  being  far  above  the  average. 
Her  "Voyage  of  Pere  Marquette  and  History  of  Charles  de  Langlade," 
written  for  distribution  to  the  patrons  of  Harrison  &  Stevenson's 
Art  Union,  and  printed  and  bound  in  a  neat  book  of  one  hundred 
pages,  at  Beeson's  Job  office,  a  copy  of  which  the  writer  has,  was  her 
most  pretentious  work.  She  possessed  poetical  talent  in  a  high  de- 
gree and  would  have  made  her  mark  in  the  literary  field  had  she 
continued  in  it.  She  married  Mr.  John  Mears,  of  Oshkosh,  and  is 
now  his  widow,  with  two  talented  daughters  in  the  field  of  sculpture 
and  art.  She  was  a  daughter  of  M.  Farnsworth  and  resided  in  Fond 
du  Lac  many  years. 

Miss  Allie  Arnold,  (Mrs.  Cranford),  was  one  of  the  brightest 
minds  of  Fond  du  Lac,  and  her  writings  are  possessed  of  more  than 
ordinary  merit — they  are  many  of  them  brilliant.  Unfortunately  she 
was  never  strong  physically  and  died  at  an  early  age,  leaving  a  vast 
number  of  admirers  and  personal  friends.     She  was  the  daughter  of 


176  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Mrs.  L.  M.  Arnold,  who  lived  many  years  at  the  corner  of  Marr  and 
Fourth  streets  and  is  remembered  by  old  citizens. 

Mrs.  Van  Dresar,  wife  of  the  late  M.  Van  Dresar,  did  consider- 
able literary  work  in  Fond  du  Lac,  in  the  years  preceding  the  war. 
She  used  several  assumed  names  and  all  of  her  work  that  she  cared 
to  print,  found  its  way  into  the  magazines  and  newspapers.  She 
never  printed  a  book.  That  her  work  was  meritorious  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  so  much  of  it  found  its  way  into  the  magazines. 

Mr.  Maurice  McKenna,  Fond  du  Lac's  well  known  able  and 
genial  lawyer,  a  number  of  years  ago  produced  one  of  the  most  read- 
able books  ever  seen  here,  but  the  crowding  of  his  large  law  practice, 
prevents  any  continuation  of  the  work.  Mr.  M'cKenna  possesses 
true  poetical  talent  and  it  is  regretted  that  business  prevents  the 
use  of  it. 

Rev.  H.  McNeal,  a  Universalist  minister  here  in  war  times,  wrote 
many  patriotic  poems  of  much  merit.  Some  were  printed  and  many 
read  from  his  pulpit.  One  of  them  took  the  time  of  an  entire  Svinday 
evening  service.     He  died  a  few  years  ago  at  jMarkesan. 

Van  B.  Smead,  killed  in  the  great  Northwestern  railroad  ac- 
cident in  1858,  and  brother  of  the  late  Postmaster  S.  M.  Smead,  had 
one  of  the  strong  minds  of  Fond  du  Lac,  in  literary  work.  As  editor 
of  the  Democratic  Press,  he  did  much  editorial  writing,  but  he  found 
time  to  gratify  his  inclinations  for  other  work.  He  wrote  one  poem 
of  just  one  thousand  lines,  after  the  style  of  Byron's  "Child  Harold," 
but  the  title  of  it  is  forgotten.  Besides  many  poems  he  wrote  a 
number  of  stories  which  he  printed  in  his  paper.  Had  he  lived,  he 
would  doubtless  have  become  one  of  the  noted  literary  men  of  his 
time. 

Albert  W.  Paine  was  a  Fond  du  Lac  lawyer  in  the  fifties,  and 
while  here  did  much  writing  for  the  press,  principally  in  essays  and 
stories,  though  some  poetry  was  also  produced.  He  went  to  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  from  here,  and  resided  there  many  years. 

Spencer  Palmer,  our  well  known  job  printer,  some  years  ago 
indulged  in  his  fancy  for  rhyming  and  ground  out  some  local  hits 
which  were  not  always  as  pleasing  to  those  hit  as  to  himself.  But 
in  late  years  "Spence"  has  not  had  time  to  indulge  his  fancy  in  that 
direction. 

There  are  many  others  who  have  at  times  taken  to  obituary 
poetry  and  to  the  production  of  local  hits  in  rhyme,  to  dining  room 
stanzas,  card  party  notings,  etc.,  but  the  above  are  those  possessed  of 
literary  talent. 

If  editorial  work  on  a  newspaper  may  be  considered  to  possess 
literary  character,  we  have  had  many  worthy  to  rank  high.  Most  of 
the  editors  were  mere  sticks,  editing  their  papers  mostly  with  shears 
and  paste  pot.  Some  have  been  educated  men  and  possessed  of 
natural  ability  and  tact,  but  put  down  too  much  drink  to  succeed  or 
were  too  lazy  for  anything.  Among  the  newspaper  editors  in  the 
past  vears  worthy  of  the  name,  have  been  Edward  Beeson.  J.  A. 
Smith.  C.  J.  Allen,  James  Russell,  Van  B.  Smead,  H.  M.  Kutchin, 
J.  A.  Watrous,  J.  L.  Thwing,  L.  A.  Lange.  A.  T.  Glaze,  G.  W.  Peck. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  177 

About  twenty  years  ago  an  Englishman  possessed  of  much  in- 
genuity and  tact  in  writing  frontier  and  Indian  stories,  came  to 
Fond  du  Lac  and  remained  a  few  years.  He  seems  to  have  come  to 
this  country  to  familiarize  himself  with  such  scenes  and  wrote  pro- 
fusely, some  poetry  as  well  as  stories.  His  name  is  not  now  ob- 
tainable. Most  of  his  writings  went  to  England,  but  some  were 
printed  at  the  east.  How  it  was  that  he  came  here  was  unknown, 
but  it  was  well  known  that  he  was  in  indigent  circumstances  and  he 
and  his  family  were  assisted  by  the  ladies  of  the  city  and  especially 
of  the  Episcopal  Church.  In  his  line  of  work  he  was  really  a  genius, 
and  pursued  it  for  the  money  that  was  in  it. 


Peculiar  Political  Contest. 

Previous  to  the  formation  of  the  republican  party  in  1865,  John 
J.  Metzgar,  an  early  day  Fond  du  Lac  dealer  in  notions  and  fancy 
goods,  was  what  was  then  known  as  a  free  soiler,  that  is,  was  opposed 
to  any  more  slave  territory,  and  making  free  some  that  was  already 
devoted  to  slavery.  In  1856  he  became  one  of  the  most  violent  re- 
publicans the  town  contained.  In  his  judgment  nothing  politically 
good  could  possibly  come  from  the  democratic  party.  His  extreme 
opinions  often  brought  him  into  political  quarrels  and  he  would  talk 
long  and  loud.  One  day  he  quarreled  with  ex-Sheriff  F.  D.  McCarty 
and  in  the  fight  that  followed,  John  tore  Frank's  clothes  badly,  re- 
sulting of  course  in  a  law  suit  before  Squire  Driggs,  whose  judgment 
was  that  Frank  apologize  and  John  pay  for  mending  the  clothes. 
Frank  said  he  had  the  worst  of  it,  for  it  was  dreadful  humiliating  to 
apologize  to  John  Metzgar. 


Freedom  from  Storms. 

Meteorologists  tell  us  that  the  freedom  of  Fond  du  Lac  from 
heavy  winds  and  devastating  storms  is  due  to  the  limestone  ledge 
east  of  the  city  which  causes  the  clouds  to  rise  high  in  the  atmosphere 
and  so  pass  over  us.  In  the  past  we  have  had  heavy  rains  and  winds 
to  break  branches  off  trees,  but  a  tornado  to  lift  roofs,  throw  over 
chimneys  and  destroy  trees,  has  occurred  but  once  in  our  history. 
This  was  in  1858,  when  the  Northwestern  railroad  was  being  com- 
pleted to  Appleton.  The  heaviest  part  of  this  storm  passed  over  the 
town  of  Friendship  and  Lake  Winnebago,  north  of  what  .  is  now 
North  Fond  du  Lac.  The  railroad  track  was  so  covered  with  blown 
down  trees  that  a  crew  of  men  was  sent  down  there  to  chop  the  way 
through  for  trains.  In  the  city,  sawmill  property  and  barns  were  much 
damaged.  Large  store  boxes  were  picked  up  by  the  wind  and  sent 
sailing — one  of  them  crashed  into  the  store  window  of  K.  Freeman, 
at  that  time  three  or  four  doors  north  of  the  present  Commercial 
National  Bank.  This  is  believed  to  have  been  the  nearest  to  a 
genuine  tornado  that  Fond  du  Lac  has  ever  -had,  yet  it  did  not  do 
a  great  amount  of  damage.  Anything  approaching  a  cyclone  has 
never  been  known  in  Fond  du  Lac  historv. 


178  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 

Greenbackers  and  Grangers. 

These  two  noted  movements  were  before  the  people  at  abont  the 
same  time,  1868  to  1878.  The  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  known  as  the 
Grangers,  began  some  earlier,  but  was  at  its  height  in  the  early 
seventies.  In  1873,  William  R.  Taylor  was  elected  governor  of  the 
state  by  the  power  of  the  grangers.  A.  P.  Allis  ran  for  governor  as 
a  greenbacker  in  1876,  but  while  there  was  much  talk  on  the  subject, 
no  one  could  be  elected  on  that  issue.  After  1878  both  of  these 
political  fads  began  to  fade  from  the  public  mind  and  nearly  dis- 
appeared. There  are  a  few  localities  yet  where  the  granger  work  is 
kept  up,  but  they  are  seldom  found.  Many  of  the  bright  financiers 
of  the  country,  Peter  Cooper,  Sam  Carey,  J.  H.  Weaver,  A.  P.  Allis, 
became  advocates  of  the  greenback  doctrines,  but  after  all  the  move- 
ment was  short  lived.  Like  the  free  silver  theories  of  Wm.  J.  Bryan 
in  1896  and  1900,  there  is  much  to  talk  about  but  not  much  bottom. 
W.  J.  Bryan  would  flood  the  country  with  silver  regardless  of  its 
real  value,  but  the  greenbackers  wanted  paper.  In  their  judgment, 
if  the  government  was  behind  the  issue  and  declared  a  piece  of  silver 
or  a  piece  of  paper  to  be  a  dollar,  that  was  all  that  was  necessary  to 
send  that  dollar  afloat.  Bryan  had  something  of  an  advantage  over 
Cooper,  as  the  silver  was  worth  something,  but  the  paper  was  prac- 
ticallv  valueless. 


Water  for  a  Horn  Blower. 

The  sax  horn  was  a  band  instrument  with  the  bell  standing  up- 
ward and  was  used  in  early  times  where  the  cornet  is  now.  When 
Mumford  &  Tanner  occupied  the  store  corner  of  Main  and  Second 
streets,  Mr.  Tanner  was  learning  to  play  a  sax  horn,  and  evenings 
after  the  store  was  closed,  he  would  seat  himself  in  the  side  door,  on 
Second  street  and  exercise  his  wind  until  midnight,  much  to  the  an- 
noyance of  the  boys  of  Beeson's  Job  Printing  office  and  the 
Democratic  Press  oflice,  up  stairs.  The  boys  protested  but  Tanner 
continued  to  blow,  so  one  dark  night  when  the  boys  were  all  away, 
Fon.  Rockwell  emptied  a  pail  of  water  on  him  from  a  window  and 
ran  out  and  hid.  In  some  way  Tanner  found  out  who  did  it  and 
layed  for  Rockwell  in  the  dark,  but  unfortunately  encountered  Dr. 
Jesse  Beeson,  a  brother  of  Edward  Beeson,  a  tall  and  powerful  man 
and  something  of  an  athlete,  who  could  handle  Tanner  without 
trouble,  and  the  result  was  bad  for  Tanner.  The  joke  as  well  as 
the  water  was  on  him  and  nothing  more  was  heard  about  it  and  the 
horn  blowing  was  also  ended.  But  what  annoyed  Tanner  most  was 
that  the  boys  about  town  found  out  about  it. 


In  most  of  the  states  the  office  known  with  us  as  County  Clerk, 
is  known  as  County  Auditor,  and  in  many  states  our  Register  of 
Deeds  is  County  Recorder  and  our  District  Attorney  is  "Prosecuting 
Attorney  and  in  some  states,  Public  Prosecutor. 


A  VERY  EXCITING  DAY 


Were  Not  Experts  in  Telegraphing,   But  Were  Required  To  Take 
the   News   From  a   Disastrous   Wreck. 


At  the  time  the  Northwestern  road  was  completed  to  Chicago 
and  the  opening  brought  the  terrible  accident  to  the  excursion  train 
at  Johnson's  Creek,  then  known  as  Belleville,  Jerome  Mason  was'  the 
express  agent  and  telegraph  operator  at  Fond  du  Lac.  ^Ir.  Mason 
desired  to  be  one  of  the  excursion  party  and  arranged  with  Charles 
H.  Benton  to  take  charge  of  the  office  in  his  absence.  Mr.  Benton 
and  A.  T.  Glaze  had  arranged  a  telegraph  in  Beeson's  Printing  office 
on  which  they  sometimes  practiced  for  recreation,  and  on  that  terrible 
September  day,  1858,  were  so  far  as  known,  the  only  telegraph 
operators  in  the  city.  Paper  was  used  on  a  recorder  and  under 
ordinary  circumstances  either  could  take  a  message,  but  under. the 
excitement  of  that  afternoon  they  became  confused  and  sweat  like 
butchers  under  the  strain.  It  was  about  i  130  p.  m.,  that  ]\Jr.  Benton 
came  running  into  the  printing  office  with  the  news  of  the  accident 
and  to  get  Mr.  Glaze  to  go  to  the  office  and  help  him.  So  many  had 
friends  and  relatives  on  the  wrecked  train,  that  the  news  spread  with 
great  rapidity  and  in  half  an  hour  the  street  in  front  of  the  office  was 
crowded  with  people.  All  the  news  we  could  get  had  to  be  put  on 
the  line  at  Watertown,  and  had  to  be  brought  a  distance  of  about  four 
miles  from  the  midst  of  the  excitement,  at  the  scene  of  the  wreck, 
and  the  operator  at  Watertown,  being  a  blind  and  very  rapid  writer 
of  the  telegraph  code,  the  errors  were  not  all  at  the  Fond  du  Lac 
end  of  the  line.  Everything  was  new  and  the  telegraph  had  not  yet 
been  installed  at  Johnson's  Creek.  It  was  but  natural,  perhaps,  under 
the  excitement,  that  the  boys  should  be  blamed  for  inefficiency,  but 
they  got  all  the  news  there  was  and  presumably  correct.  The  office 
was  where  G.  A.  Finger's  store  is  now,  and  being  crowded  to  si^ffoca- 
tion  from  the  start  had  to  be  cleared  and  the  news  sent  out  or  posted 
on  the  windows.  It  was  after  four  o'clock  when  the  crowd  in  the 
street  began  to  thin  out,  but  hundreds  remained  there  until  six. 
Just  before  dusk  in  the  evening,  the  relief  train  arrived,  bringing  such 
of  the  Fond  du  Lac, wounded  as  could  be  brought,  and  the  crowd 
of  people  was  transferred  to  the  railroad  station,  then  at  the  corner 
of  Division  and  Brooke  streets.  Benton  and  Glaze  got  through  the 
day  alive,  but  inexperienced  as  they  were,  it  was  a  hard  one.  Jerome 
Mason  did  not  return  alive.  He  was  thrown  on  a  hot  stove  in  the 
express  car  and  was  burned  to  death. 

For  the  information  of  those  who  do  not  know  about  the  accident, 
it  may  be  well  here  to  state  that  it  was  occasioned  by  the  engine, 
drawing  a  train  of  eleven  coaches  and  two  baggage  cars,  running 
over  an  ox,  about  four  miles  south  of  Watertown,  near  the  station 


180  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

now  known  as  Johnson's  Creek,  then  called  Belleville.  The  south 
end  of  the  Northwestern  road  had  for  some  years  been  working 
north  and  the  north  end  going  south,  until  a  junction  was  made  in 
September,  1858,  and  through  trains  were  put  on  to  Chicago.  In  the 
meantime  the  road  had  been  also  extended  northward  from  Fond  du 
Lac  to  Oshkosh,  Neenah,  Menasha  and  Appleton.  The  ill  fated  train 
was  an  excursion  to  celebrate  the  opening  of  the  road,  and  was 
crowded  with  excursionists  from  these  places.  Fond  du  Lac  had  a 
large  number  on  board,  a  few  of  whom  were  killed  and  many  injured. 
Among  the  Fond  du  Lac  killed  were  T.  L.  Gillet,  M.  J.  Thomas, 
Jerome  Mason  and  Ed.  Sickles.  Van  B.  Smead  died  six  weeks  later 
at  Watertown.  Judge  Flint  and  his  daughter,  Miss  Lillie  Flint,  and 
Mrs.  R.  M.  Lewis  were  among  the  wounded.  A  most  singular  fact  is, 
that  about  a  year  later,  the  mate  to  the  ox  that  produced  this  disaster, 
was  killed  at  nearly  the  same  place  by  the  same  locomotive. 


Founder  of  the  Commonwealth. 

Only  those  who  were  associated  with  J.  A.  Smith  and  knew  him 
personally,  could  appreciate  the  integrity,  candor  and  general  worth 
of  the  man.  He  was  never  sought  by  his  friends  for  brilliant  social 
qualities,  but  because  of  his  reliability  and  honesty.  He  never  knew 
what  equivocation  meant  in  business  or  even  in  politics.  He  meant 
just  what  he  said,  in  speech  or  in  the  columns  of  his  newspaper. 
The  sterling  honesty  of  his  Quaker  ancestry  was  with  him  every  day 
and  to  the  day  of  his  death.  His  father,  a  fine  old  Quaker  gentleman, 
was  a  blacksmith  by  trade  and  at  a  very  early  day  established  a  fac- 
tory at  Sheboygan  Falls  for  the  manufacture  of  steel  traps,  for  which 
the  quest  for  furs  caused  a  large  demand.  All  sizes  of  traps  were 
made  from  the  large  bear  and  wolf  traps  to  those  for  rats.  His  three 
sons,  Hiram,  Joseph  and  Paxton,  worked  in  the  factory  with  the 
father,  but  the  time  came  that  Joseph  aspired  to  mental  activity  and 
he  started  a  small  abolitionist  newspaper  which  after  a  time  was 
moved  to  a  larger  field  at  Fond  du  Lac.  In  1854  he  bought  the 
Fountain  City  Herald,  which  for  three  years  had  maintained  a 
sickly  existence  under  Royal  Buck,  and  the  Commonwealth  was  the 
result.  A  book  bindery  was  added  and  the  office  was  prosperous. 
In  1872  he  sold  out  and  went  to  Clinton,  Iowa,  where  he  had  a  news- 
paper, but  drifted  into  the  hotel  business,  which  resulted  unsatisfac- 
torily and  he  sold  out.  A  cheese  factory  was  his  next  venture,  but 
later  went  into  the  office  of  ex-Gov.  Hoard  at  Fort  Atkinson,  as  an 
editorial  writer,  where  he  died  in  1892.  His  remains  were  brought 
to  Fond  du  Lac  and  laid  away  in  Rienzi.  Mr.  Smith  was  twice 
married,  the  first  time  before  coming  to  Fond  du  Lac,  and  the  last 
time  to  Miss  Merrille,  whom  so  many  Fond  du  Lac  people  pleasantly 
remember  as  the  founder  of  the  Merrille  Institute  for  young  ladies. 
Mr.  Smith's  only  child  was  Miss  Kate,  now  Mrs.  Spencer,  wife  of  a 
Racine  druggist. 


BIRTH  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY 


This  Great  Event  Took  Place  in  This  County  and  is  Entitled  to  a 
Place  Here.     Some  of  the  Men  Identified  with  It. 


The  first  organized  attempt  to  form  what  is  now  the  Republican 
party,  was  made  in  Ripon.  The  gathering  was  held  in  the  0I4 
Congregational  Church,  on  College  Hill.  x\t  this  gathering  held  on 
the  last  day  of  February,  1854,  and  of  which  William  Dunham  was 
moderator  and  W.  N.  Martin,  secretary,  a  preamble  and  resolutions 
were  presented  and  unanimously  sanctioned,  condemning  the 
Nebraska  slavery  bill. 

March  20  following,  in  response  to  a  call  issued  in  a  Ripon  paper 
and  signed  by  fifty-four  citizens,  comprising  AVhigs,  Democrats  and 
Free  Soilers.  a  second  gathering  was  held  and  by  formal  ballot  the 
former  committee  was  dissolved  and  another  appointed  consisting  of 
A.  E.  Bovay,  A.  Loper,  A.  Thomas,  J.  Bowen  and  J.  A\^oodruiT. 

Fathers  of  the  Party. 

Without  a  questionable  doubt  these  three  Whigs,  one  Democrat 
and  a  Free  Soiler  were  fathers  of  the  Republican  party.  Other  cities 
have  laid  claim  to  this  honor,  but  when  tested,  their  pretensions  have 
invariably  been  found  to  contain  too  liberal  qualities  of  emptiness. 
Ripon's  claim,  on  the  other  hand,  has  ample  proof. 

The  new  political  party  was  fathered  by  A.  E.  Bovay,  who 
selected  the  name  Republican  party.  His  mind  originally  conceived 
the  ideas  which  he  afterwards  promulgated  and  issued  to  the  world. 

In  his  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Slave  Power,  Henry  Wilson  says: 
"One  of  the  earliest,  if  not  the  very  earliest,  of  the  movements  that 
contemplated  definite  action  and  the  formation  of  a  new  party,  was 
made  in  Ripon,  Fond  du  Lac  county.  Wis.,  in  the  early  months  of 
1854.  In  consequence  of  a  very  thorough  canvass,  conference  and 
general  comparison  of  views,  inaugurated  by  A.  E.  Bovay,  a  promi- 
nent member  of  Ripon,  to  remonstrate  against  the  Nebraska 
Swindle.     Come  all. 

(Signed)  MANY  CITIZENS." 

In  the  following  week's  issue  apears  the  preamble  and  resolutions 
adopted  at  the  meeting  held  on  the  night  mentioned.  At  that  gather- 
ing, which  was  largely  attended  by  persons  of  both  sexes  living  in 
the  village  and  surrounding  country,  it  was  virtually  agreed  that  in 
the  event  that  the  Nebraskan  bill  was  adopted,  old  parties  would  be 
cast  aside  and  an  entirely  new  organization  should  be  given  birth. 

At  the  second  meeting,  March  20.  which  was  held  in  the  little 
school  house,  since  converted  into  a  dwelling,  Mr.  Bovay  spoke  to 
the  efifect  that  the  new  party  should,  and  in  all  probability  would, 
be  assigned  the  name  Republican,  but  he  advised  against  so  naming 
it   iust  then.     He   did,   however,   write  to  the   New   York    Tribune's 


182  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

editor,  assigning  reasons  for  adopting  the  name  Republican,  and 
solicited  his  aid  in  establishing  such  a  name  by  liberal  advocation 
in  the  columns  of  that  paper. 

Unquestionably  to  Mr.  Bovay  is  due  the  credit  of  forming  and  de- 
veloping the  idea  of  the  new  political  party.  As  early  as  the  latter 
part  of  January,  1854,  he  called  upon  Jehdiah  Bowen,  seeking  an 
interview  relative  to  an  article  published  in  the  local  paper,  which 
contained  some  strictures  upon  the  course  of  Senator  Douglas.  In 
the  movement  which  followed  Air.  Bowen  was  his  chief  helper.  The 
latter  was  a  merchant  of  high  standing  and  superior  learning.  He 
was  one  of  the  first  to  lend  himself  to  the  new  organization,  but  it 
is  understood  that  his  sympathies  only  extended  to  the  slavery  prin- 
ciple.    He  died  in  that  city  nearly  three  years  ago. 

Mr.  A.  E.  Bovay,  who  deserves  the  name  "father"  insofar  as 
that  word  applies  to  political  organization,  was  in  many  ways  a  most 
remarkable  man.  All  of  the  prime  movers  in  the  new  organization 
have  passed  away. 

Sole  Survivor  at  Ripen. 

A.  A.  Loper,  a  son  of  A.  Loper,  one  of  the  committee  men  ap- 
pointed at  the  meeting  forty-two  years  ago  March  20  next,  is  the 
only  surviving  resident  of  Ripon,  who  attended  that  meeting.  He  was 
then  a  young  man  and  he  attended  out  of  curiosity.  Said  he,  in  refer- 
ring to  the  gathering : 

"The  predominant  idea  existing  at  that  time  in  the  minds  of  the 
prime  movers  was  to  prevent  the  farther  extension  of  slavery.  The 
matter  was  then  quite  favorably  discussed,  but  no  really  genuine 
organization  was  formed ;  it  was  simply  vigorously  recommended. 
As  I  recall  it,  the  evening  was  a  severe  one,  a  furious  snowstorm 
raging  at  the  time  and  the  thermometer  registering  something  below 
zero. 

"So  far  as  my  knowledge  goes,  in  Ripon  was  made  the  first  move 
toward  giving  the  Republican  party  life,  and  I  believe  this  truth  has 
been  acknowledged  by  historians,  who  have  looked  into  the  facts.  I 
have  seen  it  stated  that  a  town  in  Michigan  has  set  claim  to  having 
taken  the  initial  step,  but  this,  so  far  as  my  knowledge  goes,  was 
incapable  of  proof." 

Michigan's  Claim  to  the  Honor. 

Michigan's  claim  was  held  for  years,  but  as  Mr.  Loper  says,  was 
not  prol)able.  Now,  it  is  understood,  that  it  would  seem  more  natural 
that  the  movement  originated  in  the  east  and  that  the  New  York 
Tribune  set  the  idea  a  rolling  in  its  columns.     Admitted. 

That  paper,  however,  might  have  been,  and  without  a  shadow  of 
doubt  was,  urged  to  lend  its  influence  to  the  movement  after  fairly 
well-defined  action  had  been  taken  in  Ripon.  There  are  quite  a 
number  of  old  settlers  there  who  were  living  there  at  that  time,  who 
then  thought  the  proposed  plan  of  action  too  inconsequential  to  lend 
themselves  to  it.  They,  however,  express  themselves  as  holding  the 
knowledge  thai  Ripon's  claim  is  ])ositively  correct. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  183 

Until  it  can  be  proven  that  the  Republican  party  was  organized 
longer  ago  than  1854.  Ripon  claims  the  honor  of  being  its  birthplace. 

As  a  National  Party, 

While  the  weight  of  the  testimony  is  in  favor  of  Ripon  as  the 
birthplace  of  the  Republican  party,  it  was  not  until  Wisconsin  had 
sent  a  delegation  to  congress  made  up  of  a  majority  of  the  new  party, 
and  the  state  itself  had  sent  Charles  Durkee  as  a  Republican  to  repre- 
sent her  in  the  United  States  senate,  that  the  Republican  party  gained 
national  recognition.  On  February  26,  1856,  two  years  after  the 
Ripon  meeting,  a  national  convention  was  called  to  meet  at  Pittsburg, 
Pa.  The  issuance  of  this  call  was  the  immediate  result  of  a  conference 
between  Salmon  P.  Chase  and  David  N.  White,  the  latter  being  at  the 
time  the  editor  of  the  Pittsburg  Gazette.     The  call  was  as  follows : 

"To  the  Republicans  of  the  United  States :  In  accordance  with 
what  appears  to  be  the  general  desire  of  the  Republican  party,  and  at 
the  suggestion  of  a  large  portion  of  the  Republican  press,  the  under- 
signed, chairmen  of  the  state  Republican  committees  of  Maine,  Ver- 
mont, Massachusetts,  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Mich- 
igan and  Wisconsin,  hereby  invite  the  Republicans  of  the  union  to 
meet  in  informal  convention  at  Pittsburg  on  February  22,  1856,  for  the 
purpose  of  perfecting  the  national  organization  and  providing  for 
national  delegate  convention  of  the  Republican  party,  at  some  subse- 
quent day,  to  nominate  candidates  for  the  presidency  and  vice-pres- 
idency to  be  supported  at  the  election  in   November,   1856." 

This  was  signed  by  A.  P.  Stone,  of  Ohio;  J.  G.  Z.  Goodrich, 
Massachusetts ;  David  Wilmot,  Pennsylvania :  Lawrence  Brainard, 
Vermont ;  Wm.  A.  White,  Wisconsin. 

A  Preliminary  Meeting  of  Leaders. 

A  meeting  of  the  Republican  editors  of  the  country  was  held  in 
Pittsburg,  February  20,  for  the  purpose  of  consultation. 

At  the  convention  twenty-four  states  and  the  District  of  Columbia 
were  represented.  Lawrence  Brainard,  of  Vermont,  called  the  con- 
vention to  order  and  John  x\.  King,  of  New  York,  was  chosen  tem- 
porary chairman.  The  Rev.  Owen  Lovejoy,  afterward  killed  by  a 
mob  at  Quincy,  111.,  on  account  of  his  anti-slavery  principles,  opened 
the  proceedings  with  prayer,  in  which  he  modestly  implored  the  Ruler 
of  the  Universe  to  "remove  the  present  administration  from  power, 
that  its  unholy  designs  on  the  liberties  of  the  free  might  be 
thwarted."  Joshua  R.  Giddings  and  Horace  Greeley  had  a  tilt  over 
the  plan  of  procedure,  the  latter  opposing  the  calling  of  a  nominating 
convention  and  advocating  that  the  matter  be  referred  to  a  strong 
committee  to  act  as  their  judgment  should  dictate,  and  the  former 
ridiculing  all  attempts  at  delay. 

Men  Who  Became  Prominent. 

Zach  Chandler,  of  Michigan.  John  A.  Foote,  of  Ohio,  the  Rev. 
Joshua  Brewer,  of  Connecticut.  Mr.  Hawthorne,  of  Iowa.  George  W. 
Julian,  of  Indiana,  David  Ripley,  the  saw-log  and  anti-rum  man  from 


184  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Jersey,  took  part  in  the  proceedings,  the  last  keeping  the  convention 
in  a  roar  of  laughter.  A  long  discussion  followed  on  the  manner  of 
nominating  presidential  candidates,  and  a  national  convention  was 
finally  agreed  upon,  to  meet  in  Philadelphia,  June  17,  1856.  E.  D. 
Morgan,  of  New  York,  was  made  chairman  of  the  national  executive 
committee.  i\.n  address  to  the  people  was  adopted  which  closed  with 
the  prophetic  words,  "If  the  government,  by  any  authority  it  may 
assume,  shall  shed  but  one  drop  of  blood  in  Kansas,  that  shall  mark 
the  beginning  of  the  end  of  human  slavery."  This  declaration  caused 
so  much  applause  that  it  had  to  be  repeated,  the  convention  rose  to 
its  feet,  gave  three  times  three  cheers  for  the  address,  and  the  new 
party  adjourned. 

The  first  national  convention  was  held  June  17,  1856,  and  John 
C.  Freemont  was  nominated  for  president  and  William  L.  Dayton  for 
vice-president,  and  they  would  have  been  elected  had  not  Pennsyl- 
vania stood  aloof  from  the  other  northern  states  and  given  her  vote 
to  her  own  son,  James  Buchanan,  which  secured  his  election.  The 
next  nominee  of  the  party,  Abraham  Lincoln,  was  elected. 


Watrous  and  Kutchin  as  Writers. 

J.  A.  Smith  founded  the  Fond  du  Lac  Commonwealth  in  1854, 
and  A.  T.  Glaze  made  up  the  forms  and  helped  to  print  the  first 
edition  on  a  hand  press.  Since  then,  ]\Iartin  Mitchell,  Tom  Bryant, 
Ed.  McGlachlin,  Jimmv  Lightbody,  Mvron  Orvis,  j.  A.  Watrous, 
Tom  Reid,  Sam  Fifield',  W.^  W.  D.  Turner,  H.  M.  Kutchin,  O.  C. 
Steenberg,  P.  B.  Haber,  Col.  Smith  and  two  or  three  others  have 
been  part  owners  for  a  greater  or  less  length  of  time.  Of  the  men 
who  have  done  editorial  work  on  the  Commonwealth,  it  must  be 
conceded  that  H.  M.  Kutchin  was  the  most  prolific,  able  and  polished 
writer  who  ever  wielded  pen  or  pencil  for  its  columns.  For  variety 
of  editorial  work,  J.  A.  Watrous  has  not  been  surpassed  on  its 
columns.  His  brain  could  grasp  greater  variety  and  his  fingers  jot 
it  down  on  paper,  than  any  of  its  editors.  Turning  over  the  files  of 
the  Commonwealth  back  in  the  seventies  when  Watrous  and 
Kutchin  were  both  there,  and  one  can  readily  find  as  smooth  and 
polished  articles  as  ever  appeared  in  a  Wisconsin  newspaper  and  as 
great  variety.  Others  have  managed  to  do  the  work,  but  they  were 
not  geniuses,  as  these  were.  Mr.  Kutchin  began  his  newspaper  work 
on  the  columns  of  the  Fort  Atkinson  Union,  which  he  sold  to  ex-Gov. 
Hoard,  and  Col.  Watrous  began  on  the  Black  River  Falls  Banner, 
but  both  aspired  to  larger  things  and  got  there,  before  many  years. 

When  Rev.  W.  L.  Mather  was  the  pastor  of  the  old  Plymouth 
Church,  which  once  stood  on  West  First  street,  on  the  grounds  of 
the  new  postoffice,  it  was  not  customary  to  print  notices  of  special 
services  in  the  newsj)apers,  as  is  done  now,  and  so  Mr.  Mather,  when 
he  had  something  special,  would  go  up  and  down  the  streets  and 
notify  personally.  It  would  be  thought  undignified  now  to  do  this, 
but  it  wasn't  then.  He  was  a  most  industrious  advertiser  too,  and 
his  steps  were  by  no  means  slow. 


NAVIGATION  ON  THE  LAKE 


When,  Where  and  By  Whom  Early   Days'  Steamboats  Were  Built 
and  Run  and  What  Became  of  Them. 


Previous  to  1848,  navigation  on  Lake  Winnebago  was  by  barge, 
flat  boat  and  canoe,  but  in  this  year  came  the  first  steamboat  on  the 
lake.  In  1847,  ^-  D.  Patchen,  the  great  steamboat  owner  on  the 
lakes,  gave  to  Peter  Hotaling  at  Buffalo,  an  engine  and  boiler  taken 
from  an  Erie  canal  boat.  This  he  brought  to  Green  Bay  and  trans- 
ported overland  to  Brothertown,  where  he  built  in  the  winter  and 
spring,  the  steamboat  which  he  named  Manchester.  It  proved  so  slow 
and  unsatisfactory  that  it  was  abandoned,  the  engine  sold  and  the 
hull  made  into  a  barge.  At  about  the  same  time  the  late  Capt.  Ole 
Olson,  long  postmaster  at  Oshkosh  in  late  years,  put  a  horse  power 
on  a  barge  and  used  it  as  a  tug  to  transport  rafts  of  logs  and  lumber 
on  Wolf  river  and  the  lake.  These  two  boats  came  out  so  near  to- 
gether that  it  is  itncertain  which  was  first  to  stir  the  water  of  the 
lake  with  wheels.  In  1849  ^  steamboat  called  the  D.  B.  Whitacre, 
was  built  at  Menasha.  This  was  the  boat  partly  owned  by  the  late 
Mark  R.  Harrison,  and  in  the  running  of  which  he  became  disgusted 
with  western  lake  navigation,  and  qviit  it  forever.  After  running  one 
season,  this  boat  was  pulled  out  of  the  water  at  Fond  du  Lac  and 
overhauled  by  Truman  Shepard,  originator  of  the  Union  Iron  Works, 
and  David  Harris,  when  she  was  named  Oshkosh.  Still  the  boat  was 
unsatisfactory  and  disappeared  a  year  or  two  later.  The  next  steam- 
boat was  the  Peytona,  built  at  Menasha  by  Capt.  Estes,  and  was 
powerful  and  speedy.  She  could  make  the  run  from  Fond  du  Lac 
to  Menasha  and  return,  from  7  a.  m.  to  6  p.  m.,  if  the  weather  favored. 
This  was  regarded  as  speedy  and  the  Peytona  was  a  favorite.  She 
ran  four  years,  from  1850  to  1854,  wdien  she  was  snagged  and  sunk 
in  Lake  Poygan  and  was  abandoned.  Her  fine  machinery  went  into 
the  Tigress,  one  of  the  Nefif  boats  on  Wolf  river.  In  1851,  Capt. 
Hotaling  built  the  steamer  Menasha,  the  largest  and  finest  boat  on 
the  lake.  She  ran  three  years  and  was  sold  to  Sam  NefT,  when  she 
became  the  Wolf  river  boat  Northwestern.  Now  came  the  steamer 
Badger  State,  Capt.  W.  A.  Knapp,  the  best  boat  up  to  this  time.  She 
was  not  large,  but  was  handsome  as  she  sat  on  the  water  like  a  duck. 
After  the  railroad  was  running  and  there  was  no  further  use  for  boats 
on  the  lake,  the  Badger  State  went  to  the  Fox  river  line  and  ran  a 
number  of  years  between  Oshkosh  and  Berlin.  After  this  Sam  and 
Ed.  Nefif  had  several  boats  but  they  seldom  came  to  Fond  du  Lac. 
Twice  there  have  been  efforts  of  our  merchants  to  establish  lines  to 
the  east  shore  landings,  but  the}*  were  failures.  Our  early  boats  were 
very  slow  and  in  later  years  they  were  not  needed.     All  through  the 


186  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

years  Oshkosh  has  had  steamboats  but  Fond  du  Lac  has  had  none, 
because  there  is  no  use  for  them.  The  above  is  the  history  of  steam- 
boating  on  Lake  Winnebago  so  far  as  Fond  du  Lac  is  concerned. 

In  1855,  the  Fox  and  ^Visconsin  Improvement  Co.  had  so  far 
progressed  that  two  steamboats,  the  Appleton  Belle  and  Aquilla,  was 
brought  to  Fond  du  Lac  from  Lake  Huron  for  the  avowed  purpose 
of  running  them  between  Green  Bay  and  our  lake  ports,  but  the 
scheme  did  not  work  and  in  a  year  or  two  the  boats  were  taken 
through  to  the  Mississippi.  Some  of  our  soldiers  in  the  early  days 
of  the  war  saw  the  Appleton  Belle  at  New  Madrid.  Those  boats 
could  hardly  be  taken  through  to  the  Mississippi  now. 

Sails  on  Lake  Winnebago. 

A  respectable  two-masted  sailing  vessel  once  stirred  the  waters 
of  Lake  Winnebago,  doing  business  in  regular  transportation.  It 
was  schooner-rigged  and  with  its  sails  spread  looked  very  pretty. 
"Trader"  was  her  name  and  she  was  sailed  by  Capt  Steve  Hotaling. 
Her  trips  were  not  frequent,  but  she  put  in  an  occasional  appearance 
here  with  lumber,  shingles,  farm  produce  and  other  commodities. 
But  getting  her  in  and  out  of  the  rivers  at  the  different  lake  ports 
was  slow  and  she  was  sold  to  John  Morse,  of  the  well  known  Osh- 
kosh machine  shops,  who  took  out  the  masts  and  put  in  machinery 
and  she  became  the  well  known  Fox  river  steamboat,  "Diamond." 
But  the  "Trader"  did  not  wholly  end  sailing  vessels,  for  in  1877  a 
vessel  considerably  smaller  was  put  on  the  lake,  used  to  transport 
farm  products  to  market.  She  was  also  a  two-masted  vessel,  schooner- 
rigged,  but  she  was  found  not  to  pay  and  was  sold  to  Judge  Pulling, 
C.  W.  Felker,  E.  W.  Viall  and  John  Bauman,  all  of  Oshkosh,  by 
whom  she  was  beautifully  fitted  up  as  a  pleasure  yacht,  and  was 
long  known  as  the  "Flora."  Oshkosh  Scandinavians  occasionally 
had  scows  to  assist  in  bringing  in  potatoes  and  like  products  from 
the  east  shore,  but  the  above  were  the  only  real  sailing  crafts,  except 
pleasure  yachts  that  have  in  the  past  stirred  the  waters  of  Lake  Win- 
nebago and  its  tributaries. 

Transportation  on  Wheels. 

Previous  to  1848  the  only  means  of  transportation  to  and  from 
Fond  du  Lac  city  and  county,  now  teeming  with  railroads,  was  by 
horses  and  ox  teams,  largely  the  latter.  Lake  Winnebago  had  not  yet 
been  stirred  by  the  wheels  of  a  steamboat.  Davis  &  Moore's  stages, 
known  as  the  Wisconsin  Stage  Co.,  had  hardly  more  than  begun  to 
wallow  through  the  mud  of  timber  and  prairie.  Leaving  Milwaukee 
at  4  a.  m.  with  the  only  mail  for  this  region,  arrived  here  at  any  time 
between  6  p.  m.  and  3.  a.  m.  next  morning.  Distance  sixty-one  miles, 
time  fourteen  to  twenty-three  hours.  Sheboygan  stages  came  through 
when  they  could.  Distance  forty  miles,  time  not  counted.  Stages 
north  on  both  sides  of  the  lake,  via  Pipe  Village,  Brothertown,  Stock- 
bridge  and  Wrightstown  to  Green  Bay  and  via  Oshkosh,  Neenah  and 
Menasha  to  Wrightstown.     Distance  sixty-eight  miles,  time  whatever 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  187 

it  happened  to  be.  twelve  to  twenty-four  hours.  Appleton  did  not  then 
exist,  except  as  the  hamlet  of  Grand  Chute.  Most  of  the  emigrants 
of  that  time  came  with  their  own  teams  via  Watertown  and  Green 
Bay. 


Crook  in  Main  Street. 
Very  few  of  old  time  residents  of  Fond  du  Lac  have  failed  of 
being  asked  at  some  time  about  the  crook  in  Main  street.  Standing 
at  Scott  street  or  Twelfth,  the  crook  is  seen  most  effectively,  and 
observing  strangers  are  pretty  sure  to  ask  about  it.  Maybe  they  will 
get  a  correct  answer,  but  more  than  likely  nothing  satisfactory,  as  few 
citizens  including  old  settlers,  know  much  about  it.  The  crook  is 
there,  but  how  it  came  to  be  there,  few  know.  Here  is  the  correct 
explanation :  The  village  plat  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  Company  was 
made  first  and  became  a  part  of  the  records  with  reference  to  section 
and  quarter  section  lines.  When  Dr.  Darling  platted  his  land  he  did 
it  to  suit  himself  and  without  reference  to  the  close  following  of  the 
Fond  du  Lac  Company's  plat.  Instead  of  making  the  west  line  of 
Main  street  coincide  with  the  other  plat,  he  followed  the  old  Milwau- 
kee road  and  the  south  end  was  thrown  too  far  to  the  west  for  a 
straight  street.  It  was  simply  a  matter  of  convenience  and  I  don't 
care,  on  the  part  of  Dr.  Darling. 


Annual  M.  E.  Conference. 

The  Wisconsin  Annual  Conference  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  was 
held  in  the  old  church  torn  away  two  years  ago  to  give  place  to  the 
fine  brick  building  now  at  the  corner  of  Marr  and  Third  streets. 
Bishop  Ames  presided  and  when  the  -conference  closed  the  job  of 
printing  the  proceedings  was  given  to  the  Journal  ofifice.  With  the 
small  amount  of  type  and  its  well  worn  condition,  Mr.  Glaze  hesitated 
about  it.  but  he  and  Walworth  Chapel  went  at  it  and  did  all  the 
work,  including  binding,  and  comparing  it  with  the  same  proceedings 
now,  it  appears  as  well  as  any  of  them.  It  shows  what  can  be  done 
if  one  goes  at  a  thing  and  tries.  Surely  the  best  efforts  were  put  on 
that  job  with  that  old  material. 


Teachers  in  the  High  School. 
Most  of  the  time  that  O.  C.  Steenberg  was  principal  of  the  Fond 
du  Lac  High  school,  the  rooms  occupied  by  the  school  were  up  stairs 
over  the  stores  now  occupied  by  Geo.  P.  Dana  and  the  Wilkie  hard- 
ware stores.  Prof.  Johnson  was  the  first  principal  of  the  Fond  du 
Lac  High  school  and  it  was  located  in  the  building  at  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Johnson  streets.  Prof.  Peabody,  for  many  years  since  he 
was  here,  principal  of  a  Chicago  High  school,  succeeded  Prof.  John- 
son here,  and  Prof.  Steenberg  was  third,  then  Prof  Hutchins,  Prof. 
Mitchell,  Dr.  McLaughlin,  Prof.  Williams  and  Miss  Waters.  Miss 
Everdell  has  been  connected  with  the  school  the  greater  number  of 
years,  having  been  there  nearly  forty  years  as  teacher. 


188  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

A  Country  Grindstone  That  Was  Used. 

G.  W.  Denniston,  who  now  resides  at  the  corner  of  Marr  and 
Fourth  streets,  is  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  this  county.  He  went 
into  the  town  of  Empire  in  1846,  and  was  a  mechanic  as  well  as 
farmer.  He  and  his  family  saw  much  of  the  Indians  and  his  grind- 
stone under  a  tree  was  a  favorite  resort  for  them  to  sharpen  their 
knives.     Their  association  with  them  was  far  from  pleasant. 


He  Had  a  Peculiar  Habit. 

W.  C.  Kellogg,  of  the  early  day  dealers  in  boots  and  shoes, 
McBride  &  Kellogg,  had  the  queer  habit  of  swinging  a  foot  rule. 
AVhen  not  asleep  or  eating,  that  rule  was  generally  in  his  hand  and 
on  the  swing.  He  had  learned  every  motion  of  which  it  was  capable. 
He  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Commodore  Paulding,  of  the  U.  S.  Navy, 
and  on  shipboard  with  him  as  his  clerk,  had  visited  most  of  the 
countries  of  the  world,  and  being  a  good  talker,  Kellogg's  presence 
was  generally  pleasing.  During  a  trip  east  to  visit  his  relatives  in 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  something  occurred  to  upset  his  mind  and  he  com- 
mitted suicide.     The  firm  then  sold  out,  and  closed  the  business  here. 


A  Low  Down  Whiskey  Shop. 

Probably  the  worst  whiskey  dive  ever  in  Fond  du  Lac.  was  that 
of  Harry  Jones  on  the  west  side  of  Main  street,  four  doors  south  of 
Second.  He  was  an  old  soak  and  people  used  to  wonder  where  and 
how  he  got  his  handsome  young  wife.  His  bar  was  slovenly  and 
the  room  always  dirty.  It  was  a  tough  place  every  day  in  the  week 
and  nights  too. 


Fay  Brown,  of  Lamartine. 
Fayette  Brown  was  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  Lamartine.  He 
was  a  brother  of  E.  L.  Brown,  for  so  many  years  and  still  a  resident 
of  Waupaca  in  1905.  Fay  Brown  was  a  politician  of  great  activity, 
and  few  elections  passed  without  his  name  on  a  ballot.  He  and  Peter 
V.  Sang  used  to  have  lively  tussels.  especially  for  town  offices.  Both 
were  generally  on  the  political  war  path,  and  generally  stirred  up  a 
lively  time.  Pete  Sang  used  to  say  that  Fay  Brown  always  wanted 
office  and  "wanted  it  the  d dest  worst  kind." 


Some  Queer  Descriptions. 

When  H.  W.  Newton  made  the  new  survey  and  replatted  Ripon 
in  1870,  he  found  some  queer  descriptions  in  land  and  lots  deeded  by 
Judge  Horner.  For  instance,  one  point  was  a  notch  in  a  log  in  a  mill 
dam,  which  might  have  been  obliterated  in  one  minute  with  an  axe. 
Another  point  was  a  pile  of  stones,  which  might  have  been  moved 
in  five  minutes  with  a  wheelbarrow.  Another  was  the  end  of  a  ditch, 
and  so  on  were  others  quite  ridiculous. 


MEMORIES  OF  THE  PAST 


Interesting  and  Amusing,  of  What  Took  Place  in  the  Early  Times 

of  This  County  and  are  Worthy  of  Being 

Recalled  Now. 


Great  Fire  of  1852, 

The  great  fire  in  December,  1852,  that  burned  out  the  whole  east 
side  of  Main  street  frontage,  from  First  to  Second  streets,  except  the 
Keyes-Darling  bank  corner,  was  a  serious  afifair.  The  concerns 
burned  out  were :  Case  &  Alling's  grocery,  where  the  fire  originated  ; 
M.  Sasse's  shoe  shop,  E.  Perkins'  tin  and  stove  store,  A.  P.  &  G.  N. 
Lyman's  general  store,  D.  R.  Curran's  drug  store,  Nate  Lepper's  paint 
shops,  Carswell  &  Dee's  dry  goods  store  and  the  residences  of  W.  A. 
Dewey  and  D.  R.  Curran,  around  the  corner  on  Second  street.  It 
was  Sunday  evening  and  so  cold  that  John  Case  came  up  to  the  store, 
filled  the  big  stove  full  of  grubs,  rolled  the  barrels  of  vegetables  up 
near  the  stove  to  prevent  freezing,  locked  the  door  and  went  away. 
A  few  days  before,  the  Davis  block,  located  just  north  of  where  the 
Lauenstein  store  is  now,  was  burned,  and  the  city  being  wholly  with- 
out fire  apparatus,  except  a  few  leather  buckets,  it  was  necessary  to 
watch  the  smouldering  ruins  to  prevent  it  breaking  out  anew.  Five 
or  six  young  men.  with  headquarters  in  the  Journal  office,  on  the 
ground  where  Mason's  crockery  store  is  now,  were  on  watch  and  at 
about  one  o'clock  discovered  a  light  reflected  on  the  street  and  found 
the  Case  &  Ailing  store  was  ablaze.  The  grubs,  the  stove  and  the 
vegetable  barrels  did  the  business.  The  weather  was  dreadful  cold 
and  all  that  could  be  done  was  to  carry  goods  out  of  the  stores  and  to 
a  safe  distance ;  much  of  it  to  be  stolen.  So  cold  was  it  that  an  empty 
pail  from  the  stores,  after  going  on  top  of  a  building  a  couple  of  times 
with  water,  would  come  thundering  down  into  the  street  half  full  of 
ice.  Men  dipping  water  from  the  reservoir  at  the  corner  of  Main 
and  Second  streets,  would  burn  the  backs  out  of  their  coats  and  freeze 
their  cheeks,  noses  and  ears,  without  knowing  it.  The  cylinder  of  the 
pumps  of  fire  engines  and  the  hose  w^ould  have  frozen  if  the  city  had 
had  fire  apparatus  and  tried  to  use  it.  Next  day  fully  one-half  the 
men  in  town  had  peeling  cheek  bones  and  noses,  from  the  frost.  It 
was  a  night  of  dreadful  experiences,  as  to  the  fire,  the  only  thing  that 
could  be  done,  as  George  Weikert  said,  was  to  "let  her  burn."  There 
was  considerable  wind  and  blazing  shingles  and  boards  were  carried 
to  roofs,  and  long  distances  away  people  had  to  work  on  their  roofs 
to  save  their  homes.  What  has  for  years  been  known  as  the  "Giltner 
House"  on  Second  street,  opposite  No.  i  engine  house,  repaired  and 
altered  last  year,  was  on  fire  six  times  from  those  flying  shingles,  but 
was  saved,   Ed.   Farnsworth  staying  on  the   roof  until  he   froze   his 


190  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

hands.     Soon  after  this  fire  a  move  was  made  toward  procuring  fire 
apparatus,  and  old  No.  i  was  bought  in  Milwaukee. 

They  Were  Strong  Men. 

Edward  Beeson,  C.  R.  Harrison  and  T.  S.  Henry  were  as  strong 
men  in  their  personality  as  Fond  du  Lac  has  ever  held  as  citizens. 
Always  truthful  and  generous,  they  could  be  depended  upon  at  all 
times.  Edward  Beeson  was  a  printer  by  trade,  an  editor  from  prac- 
tice, politician  from  force  of  circumstances,  and  in  every  respect  a 
first-class  citizen,  because  he  wanted  to  be.  In  his  more  than  forty 
vears  as  a  newspaper  man  in  Fond  du  Lac,  he  was  never  once  tricky, 
even  in  politics.  Unlike  the  politicians  of  today,  if  he  promised  to  do 
a  thing  it  could  be  depended  upon.  No  matter  what  the  service  was, 
in  politics  or  business,  his  promise  was  reliable.  Mr.  Beeson  was 
uncle  to  the  writer,  who  was  an  employe  in  his  of^ce  many  years, 
therefore  knew  him  thoroughly.  Mrs.  Beeson  was  practically  the  only 
mother  he  ever  knew.  Mr.  Beeson  enjoyed  a  joke,  but  the  prac- 
tical joke  he  abhorred.  He  bore  the  reputation  among  pioneer  settlers 
as  being  one  of  the  most  generous  and  self-sacrificing  men  in  the 
country. 

Charles  R.  Harrison  has  always  been  known  in  Fond  du  Lac  as 
a  man  very  much  of  the  same  characteristics.  He  had  no  enemies, 
the  entire  community  was  his  friends.  As  a  sawmill  expert  he  had 
few  equals,  and  when  he  went  into  the  railway  mail  service,  he  was 
soon  known  to  all  the  leading  men  in  the  service.  The  old  distribu- 
tion case  in  the  mail  cars  and  postoffices  were  a  fright  to  Charley 
Harrison,  and  being  a  good  mechanic  he  soon  devised  the  Harrison 
Postal  Bag  Rack,  the  manufacture  of  which  long  since  became  one  of 
the  leading  industries  of  Fond  du  Lac,  and  are  used  on  railway  cars 
and  in  postoffices  not  only  in  this  country  and  Canada,  but  many  have 
been  shipped  to  Europe  and  Australia. 

T.  S.  Henry  was  in  personal  characteristics  very  much  like 
Messrs.  Beeson  and  Harrison.  He  was  a  peculiar  man  in  some  things, 
one  in  particular,  that  what  he  set  out  to  do  he  did  for  all  there  was  in 
it.  He  also  was  an  expert  mechanic  and  few  men  ever  did  more  to 
build  up  and  help  along  the  early  day  industries  of  Fond  du  Lac. 
When  Tom  Henry  took  hold  of  a  piece  of  work  it  had  to  go.  He  was 
a  strong  and  valual)le  man  to  the  city. 

They  Were  Disappointed. 

When  the  Third  and  Fourteenth  regiments,  Wisconsin  infantry, 
went  into  camp  in  Fond  du  Lac  for  drill  and  to  learn  camp  life,  war 
w^as  a  new  thing,  and  the  men  imagined  they  could  have  rations  pre- 
pared much  as  they  were  accustomed  to  have  their  food  at  home  and 
have  better  arrangements  in  camp.  They  changed  their  ideas  after  a 
while,  especially  after  they  got  down  south.  Both  these  regiments 
were  under  command  of  colonels  from  this  city,  the  Third  under  Col. 

C.  S.  Hamilton  (later  Gen.  Hamilton),  and  the  Fourteenth  under  Col. 

D.  E.    Wood.      The    camp    extended    north    and    south    from    Forest 
avenue  to  the  marsh  and  east  and  west  from  Hickory  street  to  the 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  191 

city  limits.  Col.  Hamilton  was  a  graduate  of  West  Point  and  drilled 
the  Third,  and  Major  John  Hancock  drilled  the  Fourteenth.  It  was 
beautiful  summer  weather  when  the  Third  w^as  here,  but  the  Four- 
teenth came  in  the  fall,  and  sometimes  the  field  was  covered  with  snow 
and  slush,  but  there  was  scarcely  a  day  that  Major  Hancock  did  not 
assemble  the  regiment  and  put  the  boys  through  at  least  a  portion 
of  the  manual.  At  this  time  there  were  long  open  spaces  on  Forest 
Avenue,  and  the  drill  ground  north. was  almost  without  a  building. 
Probably  these  two  regiments  were  the  best  drilled  of  any  of  the 
Wisconsin  troops  at  the  time  of  leaving  the  state  for  the  seat  of  war, 
as  they  had  good  drill  masters,  and  once,  often  tw^ice,  a  day  were 
assembled  and  the  men  put  through  the  manual.  The  people  of  Fond 
du  Lac  took  great  pleasure  in  witnessing  the  work,  and  every  fine  day 
appeared  at  camp  in  large  numbers. 

Rev.  Air.  Robertson,  at  that  time  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  took  much  pleasure  in  preaching  to  the  men,  and  while  he 
often  preached  to  the  whole  regiment  at  camp,  he  seemed  anxious 
that  the  men  should  have  church  privileges,  and  influenced  the  colonel 
to  have  them  marched  down  town.  But  as  there  was  neither  church 
nor  hall  large  enough  to  seat  all  of  them,  one-half  the  regiment  was 
brought  at  a  time.  There  were  many  very  amusing  incidents  at  these 
camps,  some  of  which  may  be  mentioned  hereafter. 

The  Beet  Sugar  Factory. 

That  there  was  once  a  beet  sugar  factory  in  Fond  du  Lac  is 
probably  known  to  few  people  now.  But  there  was  such  a  factory 
here,  of  which  A.  D.  Bonesteel  was  principal  owner,  and  it  was  located 
in  the  basement  of  what  was  the  stone  mill,  now  a  cold  storage  ware- 
house, on  Forest  Avenue.  One  day  Mr.  Bonesteel  was  offered  induce- 
ments which  took  the  factory  to  California,  where  it  is  said  to  still 
remain,  but  is  much  enlarged  and  improved.  It  was  here  in  1859,  and 
remained  a  couple  of  years,  making  very  nice  sugar.  But  there  was 
found  to  be  one  drawback  here.  Our  black  soil  is  not  well  adapted 
to  raising  sugar  beets,  and  it  required  too  much  water  and  too  much 
time  to  wash  them  in  the  preliminary  process  for  sugar  making.  At 
Grand  Island,  Neb.,  and  through  the  northwestern  part  of  that  state, 
especially  along  the  Platte  river,  are  many  large  sugar  factories.  The 
land  is  somewhat  sandy  and  is  said  to  be  the  best  in  the  United  States 
for  sugar  beets. 

Too  Cold  to  Work. 

In  the  morning  of  the  cold  New  Year's  day  of  1864,  A.  T.  Glaze 
went  from  Sixth  street  to  the  Commonwealth  office,  in  the  north  end 
of  the  old  Darling  block,  to  complete  the  printing  of  the  enrollment 
lists  for  the  last  draft  of  the  war.  He  was  compelled  to  stop  on  the 
way  to  warm  himself,  and  when  he  arrived  at  the  Commonwealth 
office,  he  and  Mr.  Bryant,  his  assistant,  crowded  wood  into  the  large 
office  stove  all  the  forenoon,  but  could  not  get  it  warm  enough  to 
work,  and  were  compelled  to  give  it  up,  although  the  type  cases  were 
moved  up  close  to  the  stove.  In  the  morning  the  mercury  froze  in 
thermometers. 


192  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

A  Very  Popular  Family. 

It  was  in  1847  ^^^^^  John  B.  Alacy  came  here  from  Buffalo,  New 
York,  and  settled  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Giddings  farm,  at 
Lake  de  Neveu.  John  Dana,  who  is  yet  living  in  this  city  at  an 
advanced  age,  came  with  him  and  lived  in  the  family  until  after  Mr. 
Mac3'"s  death.  The  Macy  home  was  long  a  society  center,  and  many 
large  parties  were  given  there.  In  the  summer  of  1856  the  grand 
steamer  Niagara  was  burned  off  Port  Washington,  and  Mr.  Macy 
was  drowned.  He  was  a  very  large  man,  and  while  trying  to  board 
a  boat  already  overloaded,  he  swamped  it  and  most  of  those  on  it  lost 
their  lives.  M.  J.  Thomas,  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Macy,  lost  his « life  at 
what  is  now  known  as  Johnson's  Creek,  on  the  old  line  of  the  North- 
western road  in  1858,  at  the  time  of  the  excursion  on  completion  of 
the  road  through  to  Chicago.  Mr.  Thomas  was  thrown  from  the 
baggage  car  into  a  ditch  at  the  side  of  the  track.  He  built  the  first 
boat  house  at  Lake  de  Neveu  and  put  the  first  boat  for  pleasure  on 
its  waters. 

Here  we  may  appropriately  give  particulars  of  a  peculiar  incident 
connected  with  the  death  of  Mr.  Macy.  On  the  afternoon  that  he  was 
drowned,  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Thomas,  suddenly  became  frantic,  said 
that  her  father  was  dead  and  she  could  see  his  face.  She  was  so 
distressed  that  she  had  the  carriage  brought  out  and  she  came  to  the 
city  and  sought  out  friends  for  information.  The  telegraph  line  to 
Sheboygan,  the  only  one  we  had  then,  was  not  working  and  informa- 
tion of  the  disaster  was  not  received  until  next  morning.  How  did 
Mrs.  Thomas  get  her  first  impression?  Many  would  like  to  know 
about  it. 

The  First  Wood  Yard. 

The  first  wood  yard  in  Fond  du  Lac  was  owned  by  Hiram  Linds- 
ley,  familiarly  known  as  "Hi"  Lindsley.  Coal  was  not  used  here  at 
that  time  in  our  history — the  fifties.  The  wood  supply  came  mostly 
from  the  country  by  teams  and  from  the  sawmills.  Almost  every  day 
Main  street  was  lined  by  wagons  loaded  with  wood.  But  "Hi"  sold 
considerable  wood,  especially  when  the  roads  were  bad.  One  day 
he  sold  some  to  H.  Olds,  of  the  United  States  Cottage,  now 
Windsor  House.  It  was  early  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  when  evenings 
were  sometimes  a  little  cool  and  a  moderate  fire  in  the  office  stove 
was  desirable.  "Late"  Ellsworth  was  the  hotel  clerk  and  looked 
after  things  very  well,  so  in  the  afternoon  filled  the  wood  box ;  at 
supper  time  started  a  fire.  When  the  boarders  came  from  the  dining 
room  and  began  to  gather  near  the  stove  it  was  discovered  that  the 
wood  box,  floor  and  wall  were  alive  with  large  black  ants.  Of  course 
the  boys  got  out  of  there.  "Jack"  Cole  ran  out  doors  with  about  a 
hundred  of  the  insects  on  him,  which  he  got  from  being  seated  with 
one  arm  on  the  wood  box.  The  next  thing  was  to  rid  the  office  of 
them,  and  in  the  search  for  where  they  came  from,  a  half  rotted 
stick  of  wood  was  found  in  the  box  that  was  alive  with  them.  The 
fire  had  warmed  them  sufficient  to  send  the  black  fellows  out  in  search 
of  fresh  air.     The  stick  of  wood  went  into  the  stove  and  a  couple  of 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  193 

brooms  vigorously  wielded,  killed  off  the  loose  ones  after  a  while. 
While  this  was  in  progress,  "Hi"  Lindsley  came  in  and  learning  the 
situation,  remarked  to  Olds  that  ants'  nests  in  the  wood  were  extra 
and  he  didn't  charge  him  a  cent  for  this  one.  Olds  was  not  inclined  to 
joke,  but  "Hi"  ventured  to  remark  as  he  left,  "If  you  want  any  more 
live  stock,  come  and  see  me." 

Are  All  Gone  Now. 

When  we  think  of  how  plentiful  the  prairie  chickens  were  here 
in  early  times,  and  how  they  were  slaughtered  without  interference 
of  law,  we  are  reminded  of  the  slaughter  of  the  buffalo  on  our  western 
plains  without  interference,  until  they  are  almost  extinct.  In  both 
these  cases  it  is  like  the  old  adage  of  locking  the  barn  door  after  the 
horse  is  stolen.  That  magnificent  game  bird,  the  prairie  chicken, 
was  slaughtered  and  the  state  legislature  gave  it  no  attention  until 
the  mischief  was  done,  and  prohibitory  legislation  could  do  no  good. 
After  there  were  no  more  prairie  chickens  to  kill,  laws  were  passed  pro- 
tecting them.  There  was  a  time  that  a  good  hunter  could  find  them 
within  half  a  mile  or  mile  of  the  city,  and  very  seldom  returned  from 
a  hunt  empty  handed.  Many  a  time  the  writer  has  seen  coveys  of  them 
inside  the  city  limits. 

Clown  and  Trunk  Maker. 

Alonzo  Blake  was  a  performer  and  a  couple  of  seasons  also  clown 
in  Older's  circus.  He  was  a  trunk  and  harness  maker  by  trade  and 
came  to  Fond  du  Lac  to  work  for  Lyman  Bishop,  when  the  circus 
was  laid  up  for  winter.  Next  door  north  of  the  harness  shop,  at  that 
time  was  Bowen's  barber  shop.  Mr.  Bowen  being  a  cripple,  kept  a 
dog  team  which  he  drove  back  and  forth,  between  his  home  and  the 
shop.  Those  dogs  were  noisy  and  cross,  and  being  kept  all  day  at  the 
rear  of  the  shop,  were  a  great  annoyance  to  Blake,  who  played  ali 
sorts  of  tricks  on  them.  This  made  Bowen  mad,  but  Blake  didn't 
care  for  that.  One  day  "Lon"  melted  a  lot  of  shoemaker's  wax  in  the 
sun  and  with  a  long  paddle  through  a  window,  plastered  it  on  the  sides 
of  the  dogs.  This  the  animals  gnawed  until  they  had  removed  most 
of  the  hair  with  the  wax.  Mr.  Bowen  was  very  mad,  of  course,  and 
sought  to  sue  "Lon"  for  damages,  but  Squire  Williams  thought  he 
had  better  treat  it  as  a  joke,  for  he  couldn't  get  anything  from  Blake 
if  he  secured  a  judgment.     Soon  after  that  the  dogs  disappeared. 

Elected  by  One  Vote. 

The  canvassing  board  that  went  through  the  returns  of  the 
county  election  in  1858,  consisted  of  Carlos  A.  Rider  and  J.  J.  Driggs, 
justices  of  the  peace,  and  N.  H.  Jorgenson,  register  of  deeds,  and 
Fred  Kalk,  county  clerk,  and  James  V.  McCall,  clerk.  Wlien  the 
returns  had  all  been  read,  Fred  Kalk  got  his  figures  added  first  and 
began  dancing  around  the  room  in  his  excited  way,  declaring  that 
John  B.  Wilbor  was  elected  county  treasurer  by  one  majority,  the 
figures  being  J.  B.  Wilbor,  2689 ;  George  W.  Sawyer,  2688.  Soon 
after  McCall's  figures  gave  the  same  result.    The  vote  being  so  close, 


194  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

the  canvassing  board  determined  to  go  over  it  all  again,  but  the  result 
was  the  same.  Mr.  Sawyer  was  urged  by  some  of  his  republican 
friends  to  contest  the  election  on  the  ground  of  irregularities  in  one 
or  two  eastern  towns,  but  he  said  one  majority  was  as  good  as  a 
thousand,  and  refused.  So  John  B.  Wilbor  held  the  office  of  county 
treasurer  by  virtue  of  a  decided  majority  of  one,  Sawyer  receiving 
2688  votes  and  Wilbor  2689. 

A  Big  Pair  of  Boots. 

One  day  in  1851,  while  passing  the  shoe  shop  of  Peter  Servatius, 
on  Main  street,  near  the  Journal  office,  the  writer  was  called  in  to  see 
a  pair  of  boots  that  were  being  built  for  a  man  living  in  the  town  of 
Friendship.  Astonishment  ruled  the  day  on  looking  at  them.  To 
say  that  they  were  large  does  not  meet  the  case — they  were  enormous. 
A  measurement  was  made  of  the  length  and  width,  but  a  stateiiient  of 
the  result  is  not  made  for  fear  that  some  one  would  say  it  was   a 

d d  lie.    He  furnished  his  own  lasts  as  no  shoe  shop  had  them  big 

enough.  The  work  was  in  the  hands  of  a  good  natured  German, 
named  Miese,  who  suggested  that  the  only  remedy  for  those  feet  was 
to  get  a  doctor  to  "gut  'em."  Preposterous  as  it  was,  Miese  built 
those  boots  on  his  knees,  though  Uncle  David  Knitel  suggested  that  he 
fasten  them  on  a  bench,  trim  the  edges  with  a  hatchet  and  drive  the 
pegs  with  a  sledge  haimmer.  When  they  were  done,  Mr.  Servatius 
said  they  would  make  a  couple  of  good  fiddleboxes  by  cutting  the 
tops  ofif. 

A  Reaper  and  Mower  Trial. 

If  farmers  of  today  could  see  such  a  reaper  and  mower  trial  as 
that  at  Ripon  in  1869,  they  would  doubtless  be  much  amused.  At 
that  trial  was  the  J.  P.  Manny,  J.  H.  Manny,  Cayuga  Chief,  Johnson 
Sweepstakes,  Esterly,  Wood  and  other  reapers,  all  of  them  hand 
rakes — that  is,  the  grain  was  raked  ofif  by  hand  and  left  behind  for  the 
binders.  The  Marsh  harvester,  in  1870,  was  the  first  of  the  binders, 
though  the  grain  was  bound  by  men  who  rode  on  the  machine.  A 
couple  of  years  later  the  McCormicks  brought  out  the  self-binder 
which  we  still  have,  though  very  much  improved.  The  agents  for 
those  early  day  machines  were  a  noisy  set  of  fellows  and  their  com- 
peting trials  were  exciting.     All  this  has  passed  away  now. 

Could  Not  Be  Changed. 

It  was  about  1856  that  a  few  Fond  du  Lac  men  got  it  into  their 
heads  that  the  steamboat  landing  could  be  changed  from  Scott  street 
to  Forest  Avenue,  where  the  Gurney  Refrigerator  plant  is  now  located 
and  Capt.  Estes  of  the  Leytona,  was  influenced  to  run  his  boat  up  the 
river  to  that  point,  but  that  one  trip  was  the  only  one  made.  The 
flag  stafT  was  broken,  some  boards  torn  ofT  one  wheelhouse  and  the 
boat  otherwise  damaged.  Some  thought  Capt  Estes  ran  into  a  tree 
and  did  the  damage  on  purpose.  At  any  rate  no  further  efforts  were 
made  to  transfer  the  landing  from  lower  town.  It  was  one  of  those 
early  day  schemes  that  were  constantly  coming  into  men's  minds. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  195 

Was  a  Great  Wrestler. 

The  great  wrestler,  Homer  Lane,  was  long  a  resident  of  Fond  du 
Lac.  He  was  possessed  of  a  remarkable  peculiarity  in  that  he 
seemed  to  have  no  bones  to  give  stiffness  by  which  a  purchase  might 
be  obtained  by  an  opponent,  and  his  joints  seemed  to  turn  all  ways 
alike.  The  writer  took  hold  of  him  a  few  times  but  he  might  as  well 
have  taken  hold  of  a  suspended  blanket,  expecting  to  throw  it.  He 
became  noted  east  and  west  as  a  wrestler  and  had  bouts  with  the  most 
noted  men  of  the  country  in  that  line.  My  recollection  is  that  he  was 
beaten  but  once  and  that  was  after  an  illness  from  which  he  had  not 
fully  recovered. 

Was  Not  a  Favorite. 

A  man  named  AVarner,  a  carpenter  and  joiner,  at  one  time  in  the 
early  days,  boarded  at  the  Cottage.  He  was  a  very  loud  talker  and 
a  great  boaster,  and  the  boys  getting  down  on  him,  set  themselves 
to  playing  tricks  on  him,  which  became  so  annoying  that  he  had  to 
leave.  One  time  they  dusted  a  little  cayenne  pepper  on  his  clothes, 
which  set  him  to  sneezing  as  if  he  would  sneeze  his  head  off.  Another 
time  one  of  the  boys  managed  to  slip  some  shoemaker's  Avax  on  his 
chair  as  he  was  sitting  down,  and  when  he  got  up  he  took  the  chair 
along  with  him.    The  boys  said  they  had  got  rid  of  a  nuisance. 

Were  Not  Fast  Boats. 

Suppose  you  were  a  new  comer  to  such  a  town  as  Fond  du  Lac 
was  in  1849,  ^^^^  going  to  the  steamboat  landing  should  find  there 
two  such  steamboats  as  the  Oshkosh  and  Manchester.  Then  suppose 
you  undertook  a  trip  as  a  passenger  on  either  of  them,  to  find  that  it 
took  two  hours  to  make  the  run  to  Taycheedah,  seven  to  get  to  Osh- 
kosh and  twelve  to  fourteen  hours  to  reach  Neenah  and  Menasha. 
Wouldn't  your  opinion  of  Lake  Winnebago  navigation  be  rather  poor? 
That  was  the  situation,  yet  some  people  would  imagine  that  a  light- 
house was  needed  at  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

Were  in  Favor  of  Seward. 

Great  was  the  disgust  of  Fond  du  Lac  republicans  one  beautiful 
day  in  June,  i860,  when  news  came  from  the  historical  "wigwam"  in 
Chicago,  that  Abraham  Lincoln  was  the  nominee  for  president  of  the 
United  States.  The  republicans  of  Fond  du  Lac  were  for  William 
H.  Seward,  first,  last  and  all  the  time.  About  all  they  knew  of 
Lincoln  was  the  notoriety  gained  in  his  debates  with  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  while  Seward's  work  in  the  United  States  senate  stamped 
him  as  the  man  for  the  times.  But  they  soon  recovered  from  the 
disappointment. 

Once  a  Lively  Place. 

There  was  a  time  that  Taycheedah  was  quite  an  important  point. 
There  was  a  pier  there,  where  all  boats  stopped,  and  much  freight  was 
shipped  north,  coming  from  Sheboygan  and  saving  the  hauling  to 
Fond  du  Lac.    The  Smiths  had  quite  an  extensive  store,  B.  F.  Moore 


196  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

had  his  Indian  supply  depot  there,  Charles  Qeisse  had  a  mill,  Mr. 
Perry  kept  a  hotel,  and  there  were  many  shops.  Such  citizens  as 
Lieut.  Gov.  Beall,  J.  W.  Whinfield,  Henry  Conklin  and  others  resided 
there. 

Was  Soon  Abandoned. 
The  fire  steamer,  Alex.  White,  when  first  brought  here,  was  a 
self-propeller,  and  the  first  run  it  made  to  a  fire  was  on  Portland 
street,  when  it  went  into  a  mud  hole  opposite  the  residence  of  F. 
Sander,  so  tight  that  it  required  four  horses  to  pull  it  out.  As  a  self- 
propeller  it  was  not  a  success,  and  its  greatest  merit  seems  to  have 
been  that  it  could  throw  a  vast  amount  of  water  in  a  given  time.  It 
has  not  been  used  as  a  self-propeller  in  many  years. 

Was  a  Popular  Man. 

During  his  married  life  and  up  to  the  time  that  he  went  to  the 
war  in  the  Sixth  Wisconsin,  Capt.  Edwin  A.  Brown  was  one  of  the 
most  popular  men  of  his  age  in  Fond  du  Lac.  He  was  sought  for  by 
his  fellow  citizens  for  all  sorts  of  positions,  and  in  public  movements, 
if  Ed.  Brown  was  not  there  something  seemed  to  be  left  out.  Just 
why  this  was  so,  no  one  could  tell  but  that  it  was  so,  was  well  under- 
stood by  everybody.    Poor  Ed.  fell  at  Antietam. 

Was  Sometimes  Abrupt. 

Col.  James  Ewen  was  sometimes  quite  abrupt.  One  morning 
a  guest  at  the  hotel  told  a  highly  improbable  story  which  it  did  not 

take  Col.  Ewen  long  to  style  a  "d d  lie."    The  guest  was  indignant 

but  the  affair  was  soon  settled  by  a  proposition  that  he  tell  the  story 
again  in  presence  of  a  jury  of  six  men,  who  should  pass  upon  it. 
Nothing  more  was  said.  Col.  Ewen  was  peculiar,  but  as  honest  a  man 
as  ever  lived. 

The  First  Gunsmith  Shop. 

In  1853,  S.  B.  and  J.  Amory  had  a  gun  shop  on  Main  street,  where 
the  Amory  block  now  stands,  and  Tom  Weeks  worked  for  them. 
They  made  hunting  rifles  and  did  all  sorts  of  repairing.  The  shop  was 
down  stairs  and  Mr.  Amory  lived  up  stairs.  The  building  now  stands 
second  south  of  the  public  library,  but  has  been  much  changed  in 
looks  since  it  was  on  Main  street,  fifty-five  years  ago. 

Much  Cheaper  Then  Than  Now. 

In  the  fifties  board  with  room  was  readily  obtained  for  $2.00  a 
week  and  most  of  the  boarders  at  the  Lewis  house  paid  but  $2.50  a 
week.  When  Ketchum  appeared  as  proprietor  of  the  Globe  Hotel, 
now  the  Windsor,  he  vastly  improved  the  board  and  raised  the  price 
to  $2.50,  the  boys  thought  it  very  high ;  compare  these  rates  with 
today. 

Has  Been  Changed. 

The  present  end  of  Military  street  at  Union  and  West  Second, 
was  not  the  original  terminus.  It  continued  through  the  block  to 
Forest  street  and  crossed  the  river  with  a  bridge.  The  bridge  was 
taken  out  at  an  early  date  and  the  street  vacated  from  its  present 
terminus — a  very  sensible  work. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  197 

Was  a  Useful  Building. 

There  was  a  time  that  the  old  Marr  street  schoolhouse  was  used 
for  many  purposes.  Schools,  lectures,  debating  clubs,  and  the 
Methodist,  Free  Will  Baptist  and  Universalist  Churches  all  met  there, 
and  occasionally  teachers'  institutes  and  club  meetings  were  held 
there.    It  was  a  very  useful  place  for  some  years. 


Presbyterian  Church  Steeple. 

When  the  Presbyterian  Church  was  built  in  1859,  at  corner  of 
]\Iain  and  Rees  streets,  it  had  a  well  proportioned  and  very  pretty 
steeple.  The  spire  was  a  cone  high  and  graceful.  After  the  building 
had  been  moved  to  Sheboygan  street,  it  was  found  that  the  timbers 
were  weak  when  it  was  built,  or  had  been  racked  in  the  moving,  and 
the  graceful  spire  was  unsafe,  especially  in  high  winds,  and  the  only 
thing  to  do  was  to  cut  it  down.  The  steeple  was  then  put  in  the 
condition  we  now  see  it.  It  is  by  no  means  lacking  in  neatness  now, 
but  originally  it  was  very  pretty. 


The  Brewery  at  the  Spring. 

People  who  have  passed  through  Taycheedah  and  up  the  ledge 
on  the  Sheboygan  road,  have  not  failed  to  notice  the  ruins  of  a  stone 
building  near  the  road.  The  structure  was  erected  for  a  brewery  by 
Hauser  &  Dix,  of  Fond  du  Lac,  with  intent  to  use  the  water  from 
a  beautiful  spring  across  the  road,  and  was  named  the  "Spring 
Brewery."  The  buildings  now  used  by  the  Harrison  Postal  Bag 
Rack  Co.,  at  Sheboygan  and  Portland  streets,  were  erected  by  the 
same  firm  as  a  place  to  store  and  handle  the  beer.  But  this  business 
venture  proved  a  failure,  as  the  spring  water  at  Taycheedah  could 
not  compete  with  the  fountain  water  in  Fond  du  Lac  in  making  and 
sellingf  beer. 


Sam  Ryan  was  Here. 

Sam  Ryan,  identified  with  the  press  of  Wisconsin  since  1845, 
and  continuously  with  the  Appleton  Crescent  since  1853,  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Fond  du  Lac  in  1848  and  was  postmaster  here  at  the  time 
of  the  robbery  for  which  Ambrose  Barnard  was  convicted  in  the 
United  States  District  Court  at  Milwaukee  in  1850,  before  Judge 
Miller,  and  sentenced  to  ten  years  in  prison,  but  was  pardoned  after 
two  years.  He  was  not  the  only  guilty  party  but  was  the  only  one 
prosecuted.  Sam  Ryan  returned  to  Green  Bay  and  a  little  later  settled 
in  Appleton.  He  was  an  old  school  whig  and  the  Crescent  being 
democratic,  the  name  of  Rolla  A.  Law  fof  a  long  time  appeared  as  the 
editor.  James  Ryan,  a  brother  of  Sam,  has  been  business  manager 
of  the  Crescent,  through  all  these  years  which  number  more  than  half 
a  century.  We  speak  here  of  Sam  Ryan  particularly,  as  he  was  a 
Fond  du  Lac  pioneer. 


198  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Our  War  Shinplasters. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  in  1861,  and  after 
enlistments  began  in  April,  our  gold  and  silver  coin  suddenly  disap- 
peared as  by  a  stroke  of  the  magician's  wand.  The  small  change  as 
well  as  larger  pieces,  was  all  swept  away  within  a  few  weeks  and 
dealers  were  at  their  wits'  end,  how  to  make  change.  Due  bills  were 
used  for  a  time,  but  these  were  very  inconvenient  and  merchants  felt 
compelled  to  have  small  cards  printed,  representing  5c,  loc,  25c  and 
50c,  which  they  gave  out  as  change,  although  in  violation  of 
law.  They  had  to  do  it  and  no  notice  was  taken  of  it  by  the  authori- 
ties. After  a  while  those  cards  began  to  appear  signed  W.  R.  Gold, 
Ch.  Token,  Amos  Kraut  and  dozens  of  like  names,  when  the  city  took 
the  matter  up  and  directed  city  clerk,  A.  H.  Boardman,  to  procure 
from  Milwaukee  some  bound  books  of  lithographed  shinplasters, 
representing  5c,  loc,  25c  and  50c.  These  were  issued  by  the  city  on 
deposits  of  even  dollars.  But  in  1863  the  United  States  government 
began  the  issue  of  the  fractional  currency  of  the  same  denominations 
and  the  situation  was  relieved.  In  the  redemption  of  the  city's  shin- 
plaster  currency,  a  large  percentage  was  never  presented  and  the  city 
gained  while  the  people  lost  by  the  scheme.  Some  was  kept  as 
souvenirs,  but  of  that  unredeemed,  most  of  it  was  destroyed  or  lost. 
Of  the  cards  afloat,  no  one  could  give  a  reasonable  guess  of  the 
amount  and  of  those  issued  by  dealers,  as  near  as  could  be  ascer- 
tained, not  one-half  were  ever  redeemed.  One  dealer  admitted  that 
he  was  ahead  over  $2,000.  The  cards  were  printed  on  poor  board, 
the  sizing  peeled  off,  taking  the  names  with  it,  so  that  the  cards  soon 
became  so  nearly  worn  out  that  no  one  could  tell  who  they  belonged 
to.    It  was  a  peculiar  experience,  but  Fond  du  Lac  was  not  alone  in  it. 

The  premium  on  gold  and  silver  had  so  completely  retired  the 
silver  change  that  along  toward  the  close  of  the  war,  ladies  bought  the 
pieces  at  the  bank  and  wore  them  for  earrings,  breastpins  and  sleeve 
buttons,  as  curiosities,  at  the  time  the  change  disappeared,  much  of 
that  in  circulation  was  of  Mexican  coinage,  but  none  of  it  was  ever 
seen  again.  By  the  time  silver  came  to  the  front  again,  our  silver 
mines  had  been  developed,  silver  was  plentiful  and  this  Mexican 
coinage  might  possibly  have  been  worth  thirty  cents  on  the  dollar. 
Wisconsin  people  did  not  want  it  at  any  price.  The  United  States 
treasury  reports  show  that  upwards  of  seventeen  millions  of  the 
fractional  currency  remains  unredeemed,  but  it  is  thought  that  nearly 
one-half  of  this  is  in  the  hands  of  the  people  as  keepsakes,  the  balance 
was  lost  and  destroved. 


No  Residences  Located  There. 

The  nearest  approach  to  a  residence  ever  located  on  West 
Second  street,  from  Main  street  to  the  bridge,  was  the  old  City  Hotel 
that  was  once  near  the  corner  where  Wagner's  store  is  now.  That 
street  or  part  of  a  street,  has  always  been  the  abode  of  shops  and  is 
yet.  Lepper  &  Morse's  big  wagon  shops  were  on  it.  West  of  the 
bridge  the  nature  of  the  occupations  has  been  very  different. 


WHAT  WAS  SAID  AND  DONE 


What  Pioneer  Settlers  of  Fond  du  Lac  County  Did  and  What  They 

Thought  and  Talked  About  at  Home  and 

Elsewhere. 


Old  Time  Joke. 

Darius  Hooker  was  a  moulder  in  the  foundry  of  Peacock  & 
White  in  the  early  fifties.  He  was  generally  known  as  "Dri"  Hooker 
and  among  his  peculiarities  was  a  seeming  constant  desire  to  play 
tricks  or  jokes  on  his  associates,  and  sometimes  he  got  one  from  them. 
A  moulder  in  the  foundry,  who  got  the  nick  name  "Chub"  fastened 
on  him,  was  taken  sick  and  his  malady  developed  into  a  very  severe 
case  of  inflammation  of  the  bowels.  He  was  a  small  man,  quite 
popular  with  his  associates,  and  when  they  were  informed  that 
"Chub"  was  in  a  very  dangerous  condition,  the  boys  were  active  in 
caring  for  him.  The  doctor  told  them  that  the  application  of  leeches 
was  the  only  thing  that  could  save  him,  and  so  some  leeches  were 
ordered  at  once  from  Chicago.  The  night  that  the  leeches  came  and 
were  applied,  three  of  the  men,  one  of  whom  was  "Dri,"  were  staying 
with  "Chub."  During  the  night  "Dri"  became  very  sleepy  and  the 
two  others  thought  it  a  good  chance  for  a  joke ;  so  took  one  of  the 
leeches  out  of  the  jar  and  applied  it  to  the  back  of  "Dri's"  neck. 
About  the  time  the  leech  got  well  down  to  business,  "Dri"  awakened 
enough  to  realize  that  there  was  something  on  his  neck,  and  began 
some  active  clawing.  The  boys  looked  to  see  what  was  the  matter, 
and  when  they  declared  it  was  only  a  big  bed  bug,  "Dri"  declared  it 

was  a  "d d  lie."     But  the  boys  got  the  vinegar  on  pretence  of 

easing  the  sting,  but  really  to  make  the  leech  "let  go,"  which  it  did 
and  was  thrown  out  of  doors  without  "Dri"  seeing  it.  Sick  as  he 
was,  "Chub"  could  not  help  laughing  to  see  the  success  of  the  joke 
and  afterwards  declared  he  believed  it  was  the  turning  point  in  his 
recovery.  In  later  years  Hooker  became  a  prominent  citizen  of  Mil- 
waukee and  was  three  or  four  times  elected  to  the  state  legislature. 

A  Fond  du  Lac  Cannon. 

Alex  White  manufactured  a  cannon  at  the  machine  shops  of 
Peacock  &  White,  in  Fond  du  Lac,  in  the  early  da3's  of  the  war,  after 
the  model  of  the  Atwater  rifle,  which  was  said  to  have  a  penetrating 
power  of  twelve  inches  of  solid  pine  at  the  distance  of  ten  rods.  The 
special  feature  of  the  Atwater  rifle  was,  that  one-third  of  the  distance 
from  the  breech  to  the  muzzle,  there  were  six  grooves  and  six  lands, 
to  give  rotary  motion  to  the  projectile,  and  the  remaining  two-thirds 
had  but  three  lands,  to  avoid  friction.  The  cannon  was  a  breech- 
loader and  it  required  much  experimenting  to  overcome  windage  in 


200  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

the  plan  of  the  breech-pin.  This  was  finally  overcome  and  one  cold 
day,  after  a  snow  fall,  the  cannon  was  taken  to  the  lake  shore,  at 
what  is  now  Lakeside  Park,  and  fired,  I  think  twice,  when  the  breech- 
pin  stuck  and  could  not  be  removed  to  fire  again.  This  trouble  could 
not  be  overcome  and  Dr.  Wolcott,  of  Milwaukee,  who  was  the  finan- 
cial man  of  the  affair,  finally  abandoned  it.  After  the  firing  on  the 
lake  shore,  a  tramp  of  about  two  and  one-half  miles,  revealed  where 
the  ball  struck  the  snow  and  bounded.  The  gun  carried  well  in 
distance,  but  the  projectile  went  considerable  to  the  left  of  a  straight 
line.  I  was  present  at  the  test,  and  these  are  the  results  as  I  remem- 
ber them.  I  think  the  carinon  was  about  five  and  one-half  feet  long, 
and  had  a  two  and  one-half  inch  bore.  It  was  said  here  that  the  cannon 
was  afterwards  experimented  with  at  the  arsenal  in  Pittsburg,  but 
nothing  more  was  known  of  it  in  Fond  du  Lac ;  nor  has  the  Atwater 
rifle  been  heard  of  in  late  years. 

They  Got  Drunk  There. 

John  Reilly,  a  darkey  with  an  Irish  name,  had  the  first  barber 
shop  in  Fond  du  Lac,  in  1848.  His  shop  was  a  small  frame  building, 
with  a  wood  house  in  the  rear,  and  stood  on  the  ground  where  the 
Reeves  building  now  stands,  on  Main  street.  Next,  south,  was  a  one 
and  a  half  story  building  on  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  Mason 
crockery  store,  in  which  was  the  office  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  Journal. 
Between  the  two  was  an  alley,  leading  to  Luther  Swineford's  black- 
smith shop.  Reilly's  wife  was  an  Indian  and  the  wood  house  in  the 
rear  of  the  shop  was  a  favorite  place  for  pow-wows  of  the  Indians. 
To  get  fire-water  for  these  pow-wows,  the  law  being  very  severe 
against  selling  liquor  to  Indians,  Reilly  or  his  wife  would  sneak  out 
and  get  it  for  them.  In  about  an  hour  after  getting  the  liquor,  all 
but  two  or  three  of  the  Indians  who  remained  sober  to  look  after  the 
others,  there  would  be  as  noisy  a  drunk  as  one  often  hears.  The 
noise  was  very  annoying  to  us,  who  worked  in  the  Journal  office,  but 
we  had  to  stand  it  until  five  or  six  o'clock,  when  the  Indians  would 
leave  for  their  wigwams.  One  day  Forbes  Homiston,  as  constable, 
was  influenced  by  us  to  go  into  the  woodhouse  and  see  if  he  could 
stop  the  outrageous  noise.  In  less  than  one  minute  after  going  in, 
he  came  out  on  a  dead  run,  and  went  out  of  the  alley  as  fast  as  his 
short  legs  would  carry  him.  He  said  afterwards,  that  there  were  too 
many  bright  butcher  knives  in  there  to  suit  him.  Others  might  play 
with  those  fellows  if  they  wanted  to — he  wouldn't. 

A  Pigeon  Hunter. 

Some  years  ago,  in  the  months  of  April  and  May,  wild  pigeons 
in  flocks  of  thousands  and  in  rapid  succession  passed  over  the  heads 
of  Fond  du  Lac  people.  Hardly  a  flock  is  now  seen  from  one  year's 
end  to  another.  If  we  ask  what  has  become  of  all  these  pigeons,  who 
can  answer?  "Black  Davis"  was  the  Fond  du  Lac  pigeon  hunter. 
He  used  a  net  and  caught  them  by  hundreds,  sometimes  perhaps 
thousands.  To  thus  catch  pigeons,  the  net,  about  eight  by  sixteen 
feet  in  size,  is  set  with  a  spring  at  one  side  of  a  raked-off  patch  of 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  201 

ground,  with  some  feed  scattered  over  it.  The  hunter  is  at  one  end 
of  the  ground,  hid  in  a  booth  of  green  boughs,  with  two  "flyers," 
and  a  string,  reaching  to  the  "stool  pigeon,""  on  the  other  end.  When 
a  large  flock  is  coming,  the  "flyers,"  with  a  string  to  their  legs,  are 
thrown  up,  and  pulling  the  string  of  the  stool,  it  goes  up  and  down 
and  the  "stool  pigeon"'  moves.  This  calls  down  the  flock,  and  when 
they  are  on  the  ground  the  net  is  sprung  and  before  the  wild  birds 
can  rise  they  are  forced  back  to  the  ground  and  captured.  The  hunter 
now  kills  them  at  his  leisure  by  pinching  their  heads.  The  process 
is  a  cruel  one,  as  the  "flyers"  and  "stool  pigeon"  are  made  blind  by 
having  their  eyes  sewed  shut  with  a  needle  and  thread.  Few  men 
care  to  see  it  more  than  once  or  twice,  but  to  "Black  Davis"'  it  was 
a  delight. 

He  Got  Stung. 

W.  M.  Lee,  of  Rosendale,  about  forty  years  ago,  patented  a 
movable  frame  bee  hive,  with  which  he  made  a  considerable  stir 
among  bee  keepers  for  a  time,  but  the  agitation  ceased  when  the  patent 
expired.  A.  T.  Glaze  was  at  this  time  one  of  the  Commonwealth 
force,  under  J.  A.  Smith,  where  Mr.  Lee  had  his  printing  done.  Al- 
ways anxious  to  show  off  his  bee  hive,  he  insisted  that  Mr.  Glaze 
should  go  with  him  to  J.  C.  Spencer's,  next  east  of  the  laundry  on  East 
First  street,  and  see  how  nicely  he  could  change  a  swarm  of  bees 
from  an  old  hive  to  one  of  his  new  ones.  Mr.  Glaze  demurred  on  the 
ground  that  bees  always  stung  him  if  they  got  a  chance.  But  he  went 
and  was  placed  by  ]\Ir.  Lee.  at  the  corner  of  the  house,  where  he 
would  be  safe.  Mr.  Lee  was  only  well  begun  with  the  change,  when 
a  bee  struck  Mr.  Glaze  on  the  forehead,  and  he  whirled  and  began  a 
fair  exhibition  as  a  sprinter,  when  another  bee  became  entangled  in 
his  hair  at  the  back  of  his  neck,  and  his  speed  was  increased  and  kept 
up  until  he  reached  Curran's  drug  store  and  had  ammonia  applied. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  Mr.  Glaze  did  not  return  to  see  Mr.  Lee 
complete  the  change  of  bee  hives. 

Trouble  Among  Clerks. 

After  C.  J.  Pettibone  and  W.  C.  Pettibone  had  established  the 
Pettibone  store  in  Fond  du  Lac,  near  the  beginning  of  the  war,  there 
was  a  lively  bunch  of  clerks  there.  Among  them  was  one  of  the 
political  tribe,  known  as  "Copperhead;"  in  other  words  a  violent 
secessionist.  One  morning  he  was  talking  unpleasantly,  when  one  of 
the  other  clerks  told  him  he  was  "a  traitor  to  his  country."  This 
brought  on  trouble  with  fists,  but  W.  C.  Pettibone  coming  in,  put  a 
stop  to  it.  Not  long  after,  C.  J.  Pettibone  appeared  and  learning  of 
the  affair,  told  W.  C.  that  as  the  young  man  was  getting  what  he 
deserved,  he  ought  to  have  let  them  alone.  This  again  aroused  the 
ire  of  the  Copperhead  and  he  threatened  to  give  C.  J.  a  trouncing. 
This,  of  course,  the  clerks  resented.  C.  J.  replied  that  if  the  young 
man  was  anxious  for  trouble,  he  would  give  him  a  chance.  This 
raised  a  laugh  and  the  young  man  left  the  store  and  the  city  about 
the  same  time.  Mr.  Pettibone  said  afterwards  that  his  talk  was  what 
the  boys  call  a  "bluff." 


202  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

He  Presided  Well. 

John  A.  Eastman,  known  to  old  residents  as  "J'^ck"  Eastman, 
son-in-law  of  Dr.  Darling,  was  in  one  respect  at  least,  a  genius.  He 
had  the  faculty  of  maintaining  a  grave  countenance  under  the  most 
trying  circumstances.  This  and  his  ready  wit,  made  him  one  of  the 
best  presiding  officers  in  the  state  for  meetings  of  the  gay  humorous 
society,  known  as  "The  Thousand  and  One."  The  meetings  were 
usually  held  at  the  opening  of  terms  of  circuit  court,  when  lawyers 
and  prominent  men  could  be  present.  The  court  room  was  the  place 
and  the  length  of  the  session  depended  upon  the  capacity  of  the  officers 
for  fun  and  the  willingness  of  the  candidate  to  bear  the  burden  of 
fun  without  a  light.  Through  it  all,  Eastman  would  maintain  the 
gravity  of  a  judge.  Not  a  smile  was  detected  on  his  countenance 
when  he  told  "Little"  Eaton  that  it  had  been  discovered  lately  that 
soft  soap  was  the  best  thing  to  grease  boots,  melted  sugar  and  tur- 
pentine for  a  hair  dressing  and  fish  oil  as  a  perfume  for  ladies'  use. 
This  ended  the  scene,  for  "Little"  Eaton  bolted. 

Bony  Always  There. 

In  the  days  of  the  old  Fond  du  Lac  fire  department,  when  Nos.  i, 
2  and  3  contended  for  supremacy,  W.  T.  Gibson  owned  a  large  New 
Foundland  dog  named  Bonaparte,  but  became  known  to  all  citizens 
as  "Bony."  He  was  a  very  faithful  and  prompt  fireman,  being  always 
on  hand  when  the  fire  bells  rang  or  when  the  machines  were  out  for 
practice.  He  was  a  general  favorite,  and  when  he  was  hungry  and 
appeared  at  kitchen  doors,  he  always  got  something  if  the  people  were 
at  home,  or  knew  he  was  there.  He  did  mischief  just  once  at  the 
residence  of  John  Hale,  on  Fourth  street,  when  he  took  the  remnants 
of  a  beef  roast,  left  near  the  door,  and  marched  oiif  with  it.  But 
"Bony"  had  a  remarkable  habit  of  looking  for  gloves,  mittens,  hand- 
kerchiefs, rubbers  or  anything  lost  on  the  streets  and  carrying  them 
to  one  of  the  engine  houses  ,and  so  paid  for  all  he  got.  And  woe  to 
any  dog  that  showed  a  disposition  to  molest  a  child.  He  was  injured 
while  on  fire  duty  and  died  from  the  effects.  "Bony"  was  truly  a  re- 
markable dog. 

Was  a  Crude  Affair. 

Many  people  are  not  aware  of  the  fact  that  there  is  a  bridge 
across  Main  street  at  the  head  of  Third,  but  there  is.  Until  185 1  it 
was  a  crude  log  affair,  and  the  ravine  to  the  eastward  was  open  and  a 
mire  of  mud.  It  is  now  a  covered  stone  ditch,  which  no  one  sees. 
The  postoffice  was  robbed  in  1849,  when  Sam  Ryan,  now  of  Appleton, 
was  postmaster,  and  the  money  hidden  among  the  logs  of  this  old 
bridge.  The  young  man  who  committed  the  robbery  was  sent  to 
prison,  but  pardoned  after  a  year  or  two.  After  his  return  here  the 
mud  of  the  old  ravine,  under  the  bridge,  was  stirred  a  number  of  times 
when  all  was  quiet,  in  quest  of  a  portion  of  the  money,  which  he 
believed  was  still  there  somewhere.  He  told  the  writer  that 
he  believed  that  the  money  went  down  in  the  mud  and  water  when 
the  logs  of  the  old  bridge  were  torn  out,  but  it  was  believed  generally 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  203 

that  his  partner  in  the  crime,  who  escaped  conviction,  found  and  took 
the  money  while  the  young  man  was  away  in  prison. 
Was  a  Great  Whittler. 

George  Henning,  father  of  John  O.  Henning.  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  Fond  du  Lac  Journal  in  1846,  Benj.  S.  Henning,  the  noted  civil 
engineer,  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Wiley,  for  a  great  many  years  had  his  boot, 
shoe  and  fur  store  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Main  and  Second 
streets,  now  graced  by  a  bill  board.  George  Henning  had  his  pecu- 
liarities. He  was  a  great  talker,  a  great  joker  and  a  great  whittler. 
It  was  his  custom  to  find  some  good  whittling  timber  and  lay  up  a 
stock  of  it  in  his  store  for  the  use  of  himself  and  friends.  It  was  not 
an  uncommon  thing  on  a  bright,  nice  day,  in  passing  his  store,  to  be 
able  to  kick  the  whittling  shavings  ahead  of  you.  Everybody  knew 
and  everybody  liked  "Uncle  George  Henning."  He  died  in  this  city 
in  March,  1864. 

The  Davis  Tribe. 

In  early  times  Fond  du  Lac  had  a  number  of  people  by  the  name 
of  Davis,  whose  peculiar  first  names  came  to  them  by  peculiar  adapta- 
tion from  the  people,  and  as  none  of  them  resented  the  names,  but 
seemed  to  respond  when  so  addressed,  they  became  generally  recog- 
nized. There  was  Pigsfoot  Davis,  Soapy  Davis,  Stoneboat  Davis, 
Whiskey  Davis,  Black  Davis,  Grocery  Davis,  Sawmill  Davis  and 
Steamboat  Davis.  Because  of  business  habits  or  looks  the  names  were 
recognized.  Pigsfoot  Davis  sold  pigsfeet;  Soapy  Davis  made  and 
sold  soap  about  town ;  Steamboat  Davis  w^orked  on  a  steamboat  for 
B.  F.  Moore  ;  Whiskey  Davis  was  noted  for  drinking  his  own  whiskey 
freely  and  never  treated  anyone  or  allowed  anyone  to  treat  him ; 
Black  Davis  was  pretty  dark  in  complexion  :  Stoneboat  Davis  used 
that  implement  as  a  vehicle  ;  Grocery  Davis  had  a  grocery,  and  Saw- 
mill Davis  a  sawmill.     Only  eight  Davis'  with  peculiar  names. 

Some  Heavy  Moving. 

Many  people  who  are  now  residents  of  Fond  du  Lac,  do  not  know 
that  when  the  Midland  railroad  track,  now  the  St.  Paul,  came  down 
through  the  city,  it  became  necessary  to  do  some  quite  unpleasant 
moving  of  buildings.  When  Fond  du  Lac  was  an  important  point  of 
the  Wisconsin  Stage  Company,  the  stage  barn  stood  on  the  bank  of 
the  river  where  Tait's  coal  yard  now  is,  and  Robbin's  livery  barn  was 
on  the  ground  where  the  St.  Paul  passenger  depot  now  is,  and  the 
Crippen  residence  stood  on  the  ground  of  the  present  cheese  ware- 
house, south  of  the  Zinke  store.  All  of  those  structures  had  to  be 
moved  across  the  river.  It  was  not  an  easy  job,  but  it  was  done  and 
the  barns  placed  as  w^e  see  them  now,  and  Post  has  made  the  Crippen 
house  into  dwellings  on  Sophia  street. 

A  Mutual  Barber  Shop. 

In  the  fifties  Horace  Durand  had  a  harness  shop  in  Fond  du  Lac 
which  became  quite  a  resort  and  place  for  much  fun,  for  nearly  twenty 
young  men  of  the  town,  who  needed  barbering  done,  but  would  not 


204  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

go  to  either  of  the  two  low  down  barber  shops  then  here.  They 
barbered  each  other,  but  paid  for  it  just  the  same  as  at  the  shops 
and  the  money  thus  obtained  was  used  at  intervals  for  a  good  time. 
Most  of  the  boys  became  pretty  good  barbers,  but  K.  Gillet,  who 
recently  died  at  Rosendale,  was  the  best  man  with  the  razor,  and 
"Hank"  Swdft  the  hair  cutter.  The  shop  was  opened  Sunday  morn- 
ings at  6:30.  If  a  man  wanted  a  shave  during  the  week  he  had  to  do 
it  himself  or  pay  double  price  for  lights  and  fuel. 

Won  the  Silver  Trumpet. 

C.  R.  Harrison  was  foreman  of  Winnebago  Fire  Company  No.  3, 
in  1857,  and  took  his  machine  and  men  down  to  Milwaukee  to  the 
state  fair  and  firemen's  tournament,  to  win  the  big  silver  trumpet,  and 
they  did  it  handsomely.  Of  course  the  boys  were  jubilant  and  in- 
clined to  be  noisy,  but  Mr.  Harrison  cautioned  them  that  on  their 
return  home,  of  all  things,  not  to  give  Fond  du  Lac  people  an  impres- 
sion that  they  were  drunk.  Result,  a  more  gentlemanly  or  dignified 
lot  of  men  were  never  seen  than  they  were,  when  they  unloaded  their 
machine. 

There  Was  Lively  Times.  * 

Playing  over  the  flagstaff  of  Amory  block  on  heighth  and  down 
Sheboygan  street  on  distance,  old  No.  i  fire  company  could  beat 
No.  3,  although  the  latter  won  the  silver  trumpet  at  the  state  fair  in 
1857.  No.  2,  under  Gen.  Bragg  as  foreman,  put  in  no  claims.  No.  i 
was  a  little  larger  than  No.  3,  and  worked  six  more  men. 

A  Crooked  Stream. 

A  person  not  familiar  with  the  scenes  of  crookedness  in  the  east 
branch  of  Fond  du  Lac  river,  between  Western  Avenue  and  Forest 
Avenue,  before  the  straightening  process  was  applied,  can  hardly 
imagine  how  outlandish  it  was.  After  making  all  sorts  of  twists  and 
turns  south  of  Second  street,  it  took  a  sweep  to  the  eastward,  passing 
under  the  rear  end  of  what  is  now  Haas'  wagon  shop,  swept  by  the 
corner  of  the  Lange  block  and  reached  its  present  location  through 
Tait's  wood  yard.  At  Forest  Avenue  it  took  a  turn  westward,  to  the 
Howie  boarding  house,  and  then  to  the  east  again.  The  straightening 
was  done  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixties  and  w^as  a  fine  piece  of  work. 
It  was  not  necessary  to  molest  the  west  branch  at  any  point. 

Need  of  a  Lighthouse. 

There  was  a  time  that  it  was  thought  navigation  on  Lake  Winne- 
bago was  sufficient  to  justify  the  erection  and  maintenance  by  the 
United  States  government,  of  lighthouses  at  the  mouth  of  the  Fond 
du  Lac  river  and  at  Blackbird  Island,  near  the  entrance  to  the  Neenah 
and  Menasha  channels.  The  gravity  of  the  situation  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  a  bill  for  this  purpose  was  introduced  and  gravely  discussed 
in  congress,  but  did  not  pass,  of  course.  In  the  light  of  transportation 
at  the  present  time,  we  cannot  restrain  at  least  a  smile.  There  never 
was  a  time  that  more  than  one  or  two  boats  a  year  sought  these  chan- 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  205 

nels  in  the  night,  and  now  we  have  scarcely  more  than  this  number, 
night  or  day.     It  was  one  of  the  early  flights  of  fancy. 

The  Signs  Were  Out. 

When  the  big  Main  street  sewer  was  put  in,  the  contractor  got 
far  behind  his  contract  time.  A  rainy  season  came  on,  the  ditch 
caved  in  at  many  places  and  the  street  was  next  to  impassable.  Busi- 
ness men  on  the  street  were  mad,  but  this  did  not  restrain  many  of 
them  from  being  funny  and  cards  were  stuck  on  the  bank,  throughout 
the  length  of  the  ditch.  Some  of  them  were  quite  laughable  then  and 
would  be  now  if  one  could  remember  and  print  them.  They  made 
the  contractor  mad,  but  that  is  what  they  were  intended  to  do. 

Largest  Lodge  in  State. 

At  the  time  the  Good  Templars  were  a  power  in  the  temperance 
work  in  Wisconsin,  Fond  du  Lac  had  a  lodge  of  more  than  two 
hundred  and  fifty  members  and  was  the  largest  in  the  state.  One 
lodge  night,  two  well  known  men  were  to  be  initiated,  and  one  of 
them  suggested  that  they  go  over  to  Harry  Ely's  and  take  a  last 
drink.  They  went,  and  when  the  time  came  for  them  to  go  to  the 
,lodge  room,  both  were  full  of  booze.  They  were  not  cast  aside  as 
unfit,  but  at  the  next  meeting  were  initiated  and  made  good  working 
members. 

An  Old  Time  Theatre. 

Do  you  remember  the  hall  in  the  old  Darling  block?  If  you  do 
not,  try  to  imagine  a  hall  of  moderate  dimensions,  without  stage  or 
scenery,  yet  used  for  the  presentation  of  Shakespeare,  and  other  heavy 
plays.  Langrische  &  Atwater,  and  G.  J.  Adams  used  to  come  here 
with  their  companies  and  stay  two  or  three  weeks.  Theatres,  concerts, 
lectures,  churches,  all  used  Darling's  hall  and  for  some  years  were 
satisfied. 

The  First  'Bus  Line. 

E.  A.  Carey,  in  1846,  hauled  the  logs  from  their  farm  to  the  Clark 
mill,  where  the  lumber  was  cut  for  the  house  on  Main  street,  opposite 
the  court  house,  long  used  by  Mrs.  Carey  as  a  boarding  house 
This  house  was  afterward  moved  south  and  is  now  the  home  of  Mr. 
Furstnow.  Ed.'s  oxen  did  a  large  amount  of  similar  hard  work  about 
this  time. 

It  may  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  many  to  know  that  E.  A.  Carey 
started  the  first  'bus  line  in  Fond  du  Lac.  It  was  in  1854  and  his 
route  was  between  the  old  Badger  Hotel,  corner  of  ]\Iain  street  and 
Western  avenue  and  the  steamboat  landing.  He  had  three  'buses 
and  made  the  trip  every  hour.  It  was  a  good  business  and  Mr.  Carey 
says  he  made  money  at  it. 

Could  Not  Defeat  Him. 

As  long  as  J.  J.  Driggs  wanted  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace 
during  his  life  time  in  Fond  du  Lac,  he  could  get  it.  Organized 
elTorts  were  made  many  times  to  defeat  him,  but  he  always  came  out 
ahead.  He  seemed  to  hold  a  lasting  claim  on  the  office  which  was 
surprising. 


206  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Came  in  Flying, 

On  a  beautiful  Ala}"  morning,  in  i860,  at  6:30,  George  Bentley, 
then  an  engineer  of  a  passenger  train  rvmning  on  the  Northwestern 
between  Janesville  and  Fond  du  Lac,  wa,s  bringing  his  train  into 
Fond  du  Lac  late,  and  was  running  so  fast  that  when  the  old  fash- 
ioned brakes  were  applied,  they  gave  off  sparks  like  unto  streaks 
of  fire.  Few  trains  have  ever  crossed  Alilitary  street  and  Western 
avenue  at  a  higher  rate  of  speed.  Near  the  Western  avenue  crossing 
the  train  encountered  some  horses  owned  by  Mr.  Goss  and  killed 
some  of  them.  A  long  law  suit  followed,  but  the  railroad  company 
finally  paid  a  heavy  judgment.  On  the  trial  the  facts  as  to  speed  of 
the  train  were  testified  to  by  several  who  saw  the  train  come  in.  The 
engine  was  blowing  off  steam  at  the  time  and  running  with  all  the 
power  in  it. 

George  Bentley  was  always  popular  on  the  railroad  and  when 
the  company  of  railroad  boys  was  formed  for  the  Twenty-first  regi- 
ment, he  was  chosen  captain.  The  Twenty-first  went  into  camp  at 
Oshkosh,  but  did  not  have  a  fair  show  in  drill.  They  did  not  get 
their  guns  after  being  ordered  south,  until  they  reached  Cincinnati, 
and  two  days  later  were  put  into  the  fight  at  Perryville,  Ky.,  where 
Capt.  Bentley  fell  dead  almost  at  the  first  fire.  It  was  rank  injustice 
to  the  men  of  the  Twenty-first,  who  had  seen  very  little  drill  and  had 
no  knowledge  practically  of  the  use  of  their  guns  in  war. 


Occupied  for  Church  Purposes. 

Lots  occupied  for  church  purposes  from  early  times  and  still 
occupied  by  church  buildings  are  not  numerous.  St.  Joseph's  Catholic 
Church  is  still  on  land  owned  by  the  congregation  since  1847.  The 
church  of  the  Evangelical  Association,  at  Marr  and  Third,  is  on  land 
occupied  in  1849  by  the  Methodists.  The  Baptist  Church  went  to 
Forest  and  Union  streets  in  1852.  The  location  of  St.  Patrick's 
Catholic  and  St.  Louis'  Catholic,  date  from  the  latter  part  of  the 
fifties.  The  Crescent  Opera  House  stands  on  ground  occupied  by 
the  Congregational  Church  in  1848  and  until  well  along  in  the  sixties. 
The  Baptist  is  the  oldest  church  building  in  the  city  but  it  will  soon 
be  the  newest. 


Six  Stage  Lines  in  1849. 

Advertisements  of  the  Wisconsin  Stage  Company  in  the  Fond 
du  Lac  Journal  in  1849,  indicate  that  the  company  at  that  time  had 
six  lines  leading  from  here.    They  were  as  follows : 

Fond  du  Lac  to  Portage  via  Waupun  and  Fox  Lake. 

Fond  du  Lac  to  Oconomowoc. 

Fond  du  Lac  to  Milwaukee. 

Fond  du  Lac  to  Sheboygan. 

Fond  du  Lac  to  Green  Bay. 

Fond  du  Lac  to  Ceresco  and  St.  Marie. 

The  latter,  if  advertised  now,  would  be  Ripon  and  Princeton. 


HAPPENINGS  HERE  AND  THERE 


Matters  Which  Were  Talked  About  in  the  Pioneer  Days.     Some  of 

Then  Interesting,  Some  Valuable  from  a  Business 

Point  of  View. 


Early  Days'  Ice  Business. 

It  was  not  until  1858  that  Fond  du  Lac  people  had  ice  delivered 
at  their  houses  from  a  Avagon,  and  the  first  man  to  do  this  work  here 
was  A.  W.  Chapman,  who  lives  on  West  Johnson  street.  He  deliv- 
ered ice  the  first  two  years  from  an  open,  one  horse  wagon,  and  during 
the  first  year  there  was  not  an  ice  box  or  refrigerator  in  Fond  du  Lac. 
The  first  ice  boxes  he  saw  were  made  of  two  store  boxes,  one  a  little 
smaller  than  the  other,  put  inside  and  the  space  filled  with  sawdust. 
The  second  year  L  S.  Sherwood,  the  hardware  dealer,  got  a  few 
refrigerators  from  the  east  and  a  German  cabinet  maker  made  a  few 
here.  The  second  year  Mr.  Chapman  had  a  competitor,  who  bought 
him  out  at  the  end  of  the  next  year,  paying  him  $800  simply  to  keep 
off  the  street  with  ice. 

His  first  year's  sales  were  $250  and  the  last  year  $3,500.  In  1857 
M.  Van  Dresar  had  a  meat  market  and  C.  B.  Bartlett  worked  for  him. 
In  this  market  was  the  first  ice  box  used  for  keeping  meat  in  a  market 
in  hot  weather.  It  was  a  very  crude  arrangement  compared  with  the 
present,  but  it  was  not  very  long  after  this  that  Mr.  Murphy,  still  a 
resident  here,  began  to  manufacture  a  sensible  meat  market  ice  box, 
and  is  making  them  yet.  He  has  put  some  into  markets  in  the  Lake 
Superior  country,  that  cost  several  thousand  dollars.  His  ice  boxes 
for  this  purpose  have  proven  remarkably  successful.  The  wonderful 
success  of  the  Gurney  and  Bowen  refrigerators  in  Fond  du  Lac  is  well 
known.  The  North  Pole  refrigerator,  made  here  many  years  ago  in 
large  numbers,  by  E.  Perkins,  failed  onh'  because  it  Jiad  to  give  place 
to  more  profitable  manufactures. 

It  is  not  regarded  now  as  a  difficult  undertaking  to  keep  ice 
through  the  summer,  but  fifty  years  ago  it  was  thought  necessary  to 
excavate  a  resting  place  for  it  in  the  side  of  a  hill,  or  resort  to  some 
other  equally  expensive  method  to  preserve  it  from  melting.  Now 
a  barn  or  shed  and  a  little  sawdust  is  all  that  is  needed.  Lake  Winne- 
bago and  Lake  de  Neveu  give  us  an  abundant  supply  of  pure  ice  and 
thousands  of  tons  are  cut  here  some  winters  by  Chicago  and  Milwau- 
kee dealers. 

Disobedience  of  Orders. 

It  is  remembered  by  many  who  now  reside  here,  that  some  years 
ago  when  Conductor  DePue  ran  the  passenger  train  daily  between 
Fond  du  Lac  and  Milwaukee,  his  two  children  and  servant  girl  were 


208  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Stricken  and  died  of  black  diphtheria.  The  children  were  promptly 
buried,  but  a  brother  of  the  servant  girl  was  here  and  very  anxious 
that  her  body  be  taken  to  her  home  near  Kewaskum.  The  law  pro- 
hibited its  shipment  by  rail.  Undertaker  Reader  prepared  it  and  put 
on  the  box  plain  directions  that  it  was  not  to  be  removed  from  the 
sleigh  until  ready  to  put  into  the  ground.  Under  no  circumstances 
was  a  funeral  to  be  held.  With  this  freight  Jesse  Ribble,  from  Paine's 
livery,  started  for  Kewaskum.  So  bad  were  the  drifts  that  he  did  not 
reach  Eden  until  noon.  Stuck  in  a  drift  soon  after  at  the  home  of  the 
pathmaster,  that  official  summoned  a  gang  of  men  and  shoveled  Jess 
through  to  the  end  of  his  road  district.  The  next  pathmaster,  with 
another  gang,  shoveled  him  through  to  Kewaskum.  Here  he  was  met 
by  the  father  and  brothers,  who  took  the  box  three  miles  into  the 
country,  under  strict  injunctions  as  to  funeral  and  having  their  atten- 
tion called  to  the  directions  on  the  box.  But  it  was  afterwards  learned 
that  not  only  were  the  remains  taken  into  a  church,  but  the  casket 
was  opened  there,  with  the  result  that  at  least  three  persons  took  the 
disease  and  died,  one  of  them  a  brother.  Possibly  more  may  have 
taken  the  disease,  but  those  are  known.  Great  credit  is  due  to  the 
pathmasters  but  some  sort  of  punishment  ought  to  have  been  given 
to  the  family  of  the  girl.  Ribble  came  back  to  Fond  du  Lac  on  the 
cars  after  the  father  took  the  box,  but  so  bad  were  the  roads  that  he 
did  not  get  his  team  here  for  three  days. 

We  Forget  About  It. 

Lapse  of  time  causes  us  to  forget  things  that  made  strong  im- 
pressions on  our  minds  at  the  time.  Unless  w^e  have  some  record  or 
something  tangible  to  couple  with  them,  we  are  liable  to  forget  what 
we  most  desire  to  remember.  For  instance,  it  was  but  four  years  ago 
that  we  had  a  steady  rain  of  seven  days  and  the  water  in  the  river 
was  very  high — not  quite  so  high  as  in  our  late  experience,  but  high 
enough  to  flood  Forest  Avenue  and  run  down  Sophia  street,  yet  very 
few  people  remember  about  it.  At  least  twice  before  this,  once  in  the 
fifties,  once  in  the  eighties,  we  had  freshets  at  least  equal  to  this  last 
one.  About  1875,  the  Saturday  Reporter,  then  under  the  proprietor- 
ship of  Thwing  &  Farnum,  was  driven  out  of  the  basement  of  the 
present  postoffice  building  by  high  water.  Alex  White  will  have  a 
lively  remembrance  of  trouble  by  water  in  his  foundry  and  machine 
shop,  when  the  machinery  was  four  days  under  water  and  the  foundry 
floor  flooded.  Rob.  Zinke  can  tell  you  of  a  time  that  out  houses  and 
fences  floated  in  the  streets  but  he  don't  know  the  year.  In  the  early 
days  a  flood  was  expected  every  spring.  Less  water  runs  ofif  into  the 
streams  now  because  more  land  is  broken  and  cultivated  and  the 
ground  absorbs  more  water.  Had  we  memorandum  records  to  go  to 
for  information,  we  should  be  surprised  to  find  how  many  freshets 
there  have  been  in  the  past.    Without  records  we  forget. 

There  was  probably  never  a  time  in  our  history  that  so  much 
water  fell  in  so  short  a  time  as  on  one  day  in  June,  1905.  On  the  brick 
pavement  of  Main  street  it  looked  like  waves  and  2.57  inches  of 
rainfall  in  twelve  hours  may  be  regarded  as  unprecedented. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  209 

A  Distressing  Event. 
It  was  in  1857  that  a  distressing  event  took  place  in  the  house  now 
the  third  east  of  the  Congregational  Church  and  occupied  by  C.  D. 
Smith.  At  that  time  George  Smith,  a  millwright,  occupied  the  house. 
His  work  often  took  him  out  of  town  and  he  would  be  away  for  a 
week  or  two.  A  man  boarder  slept  up  stairs  and  the  servant  girl  in 
another  part  of  the  house.  Mrs.  Smith  had  a  baby  in  bed  with  her, 
and  left  a  lard  oil  lamp  of  the  times,  burning  on  a  stand  near  the  front 
of  the  bed.  About  midnight  Mrs.  Smith  awakened  by  the  bed  being 
on  fire.  She  tossed  the  baby  out  on  the  floor,  fortunately  without 
hurting  it,  and  her  cries  brought  the  hired  girl  and  boarder  to  her 
assistance.  A\'hen  the  fire  was  extinguished  and  Dr.  Adams  had  come, 
it  was  found  that  Mrs.  Smith's  back  was  burned  to  a  blister  from  her 
neck  to  her  heels.  It  happened  in  the  early  spring  and  Mrs.  Smith 
lingered  along  until  one  morning  in  September,  three  women  of  the 
city  called  to  see  her  and  in  their  ignorance  of  the  depressing  effect 
of  discouragement,  told  her  how  bad  she  looked  and  with  many  long 
sighs  left  the  house  and  Mrs.  Smith  died  that  night.  Of  course  the 
doctor  was  mad,  as  he  had  a  right  to  be,  when  the  hired  girl  and  Mr. 
Smith  told  him  about  it,  and  there  was  great  indignation  among 
Mrs.  Smith's  many  friends.  She  had  been  lingering  a  long  time  with 
that  terrible  burn,  but  Dr.  Adams  thought  she  had  a  fair  chance  for 
recovery  until  the  coming  in  of  those  foolish  women  with  their  de- 
pressing talk  and  manner.  How  the  fire  originated  Mrs.  Smith  could 
not  tell,  but  it  must  have  been  from  the  lamp. 

Practice  of  Delivering  Goods. 

The  practice  of  delivering  goods  at  the  homes  of  customers  by 
dealers  of  whom  they  were  purchased,  is  of  comparatively  modern 
date.  It  came  about  i860,  with  the  flour  and  feed  men  and  the  ship- 
ping in  of  their  product  by  the  big  mills  outside.  People  tired  of 
taking  along  a  wheelbarrow  or  sled  when  they  ordered  flour  or  feed, 
and  to  carry  it  home  was  dusty  and  unpleasant.  And  so  it  came 
about  that  the  dealers  in  flour  and  feed  delivered  their  goods,  T.  S. 
Henry  being  one  of  the  first  to  do  just  what  his  two  sons  are  ^oing 
now  and  in  the  same  place.  E.  C.  Thompkins,  the  grocery  man,  in 
business  here  under  the  name  of  Davis  &  Co.,  from  1854  until  1896, 
extended  the  delivery  to  groceries  and  from  that  time  on  it  spread 
until  now  the  practice  is  recognized  by  pretty  much  all  sorts  of  busi- 
ness. Even  the  drug  stores  now  keep  delivery  boys.  Since  the 
coming  in  of  the  telephone  a  few  years  ago,  the  parcel,  delivery  man 
has  been  called  into  existence,  and  the  streets  are  filled  with  them. 
The  old  fashioned  drayman  of  twenty-five  years  ago,  is  now  almost 
unknown.  We  now  have  a  half  dozen  or  so  of  freighters  but  no  old 
time  draymen.  Before  the  introduction  of  the  delivery  system  the 
purchaser  had  to  carry  home  his  goods  or  pay  a  drayman  twenty-five 
cents  to  do  it  for  him. 

An  Old  Time  Fourth  of  July. 
At  one  of  the  old  time  Fourth  of  July  celebrations,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  have  a  fun  parade  in  the  afternoon  and  Mr.  Dormer,  of  the 


210  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 

firm  of  Dormer  &  Green,  dealers  in  dry  goods,  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  a  committee  to  prepare  a  program.  He  was  a  man  of  infinite 
humor,  and  if  one  had  a  few  of  the  half  sheet  programs  now  as  Mr. 
Glaze  printed  them,  they  could  be  readily  sold  for  a  dollar  each.  The 
equal  of  it  was  never  seen  here  or  anywhere  else.  They  called  them- 
selves Rifif  Raffs.  Many  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  the  city  took 
part  in  this  parade  and  enjoyed  it.  Mr.  D.  E.  Hoskins,  father  of 
F.  B.  Hoskins,  was  the  commander-in-chief  and  Dormer  gave  him  a 
name  suggestive  of  those  we  now  get  daily  from  Russia.  Here  is  the 
name :  Gen.  Dolgorustnogrudnogorehakoffruffemoffpluffemoffheade- 
moft'pushemoft'knockemoffprowsbiprisbiskisgi.  Among  the  aides  to 
Commander-in-Chief  Hoskins  were  D.  R.  Curran,  Thos.  H.  Green, 
-Vlex  White,  Ed.  Farnsworth,  A.  H.  Boardman  and  others,  all  of  whom 
had  startling  names  on  the  program.  Tim  Strong  gave  the  address 
and  D.  W.  C.  Wright  tried  to  sing  a  song.  Fun  was  laying  around 
loose  everywhere  that  afternoon,  and  such  a  Fourth  of  July  celebra- 
tion as  that,  was  never  witnessed  before  or  since,  here  or  elsewhere. 

Storm  in  a  Printing  Office. 

When  Beeson's  Job  Printing  office  was  doing  the  printing  for 
the  northern  division  of  the  Northwestern  road  in  1857  and  1858,  an 
order  was  received  for  100,000  dodgers,  known  to  printers  as  one- 
twelfth  sheets,  or  six  by  twelve  inches  in  size.  Such  dodgers  were  all 
the  rage  among  railroad  men  at  that  time.  The  office  was  far  short 
of  the  facilities  of  today  and  Web.  Henry  was  put  to  work  on  them 
on  a  Cincinnati  hand  press,  which  piece  of  machinery  had  but  one 
recommendation  for  its  existence — it  was  cheap.  Web.  worked  about 
six  weeks  steady  on  the  press  work  of  that  job.  One  day  when  the 
hands  in  the  office  went  to  dinner  they  left  about  25,000  of  these 
dodgers  on  the  table,  plain  and  printed,  and  without  weights  on  the 
piles.  During  the  noon  hour  a  thunder  storm  came  up,  preceded  as 
usual  by  wind,  and  when  the  boys  returned  they  found  the  office  in 
places  about  knee  deep  with  those  bits  of  paper,  and  it  required  the 
time  of  the  afternoon  to  recover  what  had  not  been  spoiled.  The 
washing  trough,  lye  kettle,  ink  slabs  and  rollers  got  fully  their  share 
of  the  ruined  paper.  But  Web.  Henry  finally  got  the  job  completed, 
all  the  same.  A  modern  office  would  print  that  job  now  in  two  days 
or  less. 

Cruelly  Shot  Down. 

When  the  Thirty-second  Wisconsin  regiment  was  called  to  the 
war,  Ike  Stirison  was  a  printer  in  the  Commonwealth  office  in  the 
employ  of  J.  A.  Smith.  Charley  Jewell,  of  Eldorado  was  an  employe 
there  at  the  same  time.  Miss  Mary  Lawrence,  wife  of  Edward 
McGlachlin,  of  the  Stevens  Point  Journal,  and  Miss  Emma  Farr,  were 
type-setters  in  the  office.  Mr.  Smith  had  a  job  on  his  hands  to  keep 
the  boys  from  annoying  the  girls  and  when  the  Thirty-second  regi- 
ment was  called  to  the  field.  Ike  was  encouraged  to  enlist.  He  went 
to  the  war  and  one  morning  early  when  the  regiment  was  at  Memphis, 
Ike  had  just  come  off  duty,  and  was  walking  along  a  street,  when 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  211 

some  one  at  an  upper  window  of  a  business  building  shot  him  dead 
in  his  tracks.  A  rush  was  made  for  the  coward  who  fired  the  shot, 
but  he  was  not  found.  The  confederate  soldiers  and  people  of 
Memphis  denounced  the  cowardly  act.  Ike  Stinson  was  naturally  full 
of  jollity  from  crown  to  toe  and  was  the  life  of  the  company,  wherever 
he  was.  Of  the  Fond  du  Lac  boys  who  lost  their  lives  in  the  war, 
none  were  more  sincerely  mourned  by  his  friends  than  was  Ike 
Stinson. 

Quickly  Taken  Up. 

When  Dr.  Darling  offered  lots  free  to  those  who  would  build  on 
them,  and  for  $25  to  others,  free  as  to  location,  the  corner  lots  from 
First  to  Fifth  streets,  the  lots  on  Main  street,  were  quickly  taken. 
Southeast  corner  of  First  and  Main  was  taken  by  Keyes  A.  Darling; 
northeast  corner  of  Second  and  Main,  Col.  Tryon ;  southeast 
corner  of  Second  and  Main,  George  Henning;  northeast  corner 
pf  Third  and  Main,  Lyman  Bishop ;  southeast  corner  of  Third 
and  Main,  J.  L.  Ault;  northeast  corner  of  Fourth  and  Main,  John 
Bannister ;  southeast  corner  Fourth  and  Main,  Isaac  Brown ;  northeast 
corner  Fifth  and  Main,  Airs.  Carey  and  the  southeast  corner,  Dr.  W. 
H.  W^alker.  The  lots  between  these  were  largely  and  almost  immedi- 
ately taken  by  builders  for  business  purposes.  When  the  county  seat 
was  fixed  here  and  the  location  of  the  court  house  determined,  these 
lots  so  near  the  court  house  were  deemed  very  valuable,  but  Dr. 
Darling  did  not  change  his  policy  in  disposing  of  them. 

Oats  in  a  Church. 

The  old  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  located  on  Follett  and  Ban- 
nister streets,  was  a  neat  and  comfortable  place  of  worship,  but  it  was 
so  far  north  that  it  was  felt  that  a  great  mistake  was  made  when  it  was 
built  there.  Some  of  the  attendants  frequently  remarked  that  they 
were  going  to  "Oshkosh  to  church,"  yet  the  Rev.  Joshua  Sweet  and 
the  Rev.  G.  B.  Eastman  held  regular  services  there  many  years  and 
J.  H.  Burger,  the  well  known  music  teacher,  was  long  the  organist 
with  an  always  excellent  choir.  But  a  change  had  to  be  made  in  the 
location  of  a  church  and  the  place  decided  upon  was  that  of  the 
present  Cathedral.  A  Sunday  school  was  for  some  time  held  in  the 
old  church,  but  finally  it  was  left  alone,  even  the  old  cushions  in  some 
of  the  pews  remaining  untouched  and  when  the  writer  attended  the 
funeral  of  Mrs.  Ferris,  which  was  held  there,  green  oats  six  or  eight 
inches  high,  had  sprung  up  through  some  of  the  cushions  from  seed 
in  the  straw. 

Died  in  His  Chair. 

In  1858  there  was  a  small  man  in  Fond  du  Lac  who  went  by  the 
name  of  Danty  Martin.  He  had  a  jewelry  store  and  watchmaker's 
shop  on  the  east  side  of  Main  street,  three  doors  south  of  First  street. 
He  was  a  very  pleasant  old  gentleman  and  all  seemed  to  like  him. 
One  cold  night  he  was  at  a  church  social  on  the  west  side.  He  slept 
in  his  store  and  took  his  meals  at  Charles  Olmsted's.  He  left  the 
social    for   home   at   about    11    o'clock,    and    as    he    did    not   come   to 


212  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

breakfast  next  morning,  Mr.  Olmsted  went  to  the  store  and  found  him 
sitting  in  a  chair  dead.  The  surroundings  showed  that  he  had  come 
in,  lit  his  lamp,  started  a  fire  and  sat  down  to  read.  The  lamp  was 
still  burning  and  he  W^s  sitting  apparently  very  comfortable  in  his 
chair.  Little  was  known  about  him  here,  but  a  nephew  or  some 
relative  turned  up  to  claim  what  property  he  had,  which  was  not 
much.  His  peculiar  death,  discovered  at  about  8  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, made  much  stir  on  the  street. 

Early  Lecture  Course. 

It  was  in  September  of  1856,  that  A.  O'Leary  made  his  first  ap- 
pearance in  Fond  du  Lac  as  a  lecturer.  He  was  here  several  times 
since  and  always  drew  a  crowd.  His  first  lectures  were  given  in 
Darling's  hall  and  were  mainly  on  phrenology.  His  subsequent 
lectures  were  mainly  on  physiology  and  hygiene,  probably  because 
it  paid  better  to  doctor  people  than  it  did  to  read  characters.  He  was 
a  Boston  Yankee  with  an  Irish  name,  was  a  very  good  talker  and  a 
good  reader  of  character.  The  last  time  he  was  here  he  seemed  to 
ignore  phrenology,  but  would  read  characters  on  the  stage  when  re- 
quested. He  talked  what  he  thought,  therefore  at  times  made  enemies. 
Yet  it  was  a  remarkable  fact  that  every  time  O'Lary  appeared  here, 
he  drew  crowds  to  his  lectures,  even  on  nights  when  he  charged  an 
admission  fee.     He  died  a  few  years  ago. 

He  Forgot  Himself.  > 

In  early  times  it  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  see  a  wagon  fast 
in  the  mud  of  Main  street  in  Fond  du  Lac.  Mud  holes  were  frequent 
and  some  of  them  deep.  One  morning  in  about  1851,  a  farmer's 
wagon  loaded  with  bags  of  grain,  suddenly  went  down  in  a  chuk- 
hole  south  of  Forest  avenue,  and  stuck  there.  After  vainly  trying 
to  pull  the  wagon  out,  the  farmer  began  carrying  the  bags  of  grain 
to  the  sidewalk  to  lighten  the  load.  Standing  among  the  men,  looking 
on,  was  a  young  man  who  had  been  about  town  a  week  or  two  begging 
by  playing  the  deaf  mute  trick.  Advice  and  suggestions  about  what 
to  do,  were  flying  about,  when  suddenly  becoming  excited,  our  deaf 
and  dumb  friend  began  to  tell  what  he  would  do.  He  had  betrayed 
himself  and  left  the  scene  suddenly. 

A  Captive  Bird. 

It  is  said  that  the  robin  is  not  a  desirable  cage  bird  for  the  reason 
that  he  will  not  sing  in  captivity  and  is  short  lived.  But  in  i860.  Miss 
Libbie  Farnsworth,  now  Mrs.  Mears,  of  Oshkosh,  had  one  in  a  cage 
at  her  home  in  Fond  du  Lac,  northeast  corner  of  M'arr  and  Fifth 
streets,  that  was  a  loud  and  beautiful  singer.  How  long  he  lived  in 
captivity  is  not  now  remembered  with  certainty,  but  it  was  more  than 
two  years.  He  certainly  was  a  good  singer  and  his  voice  could  be 
plainly  heard  a  block  distant.  They  are  migratory  birds  and  it  is 
very  likely  that  they  would  not  live  very  long  in  captivity.  The  one 
here  spoken  of  was  much  admired  by  everybody  in  the  neighborhood. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  213 

It  Was  a  Surprise. 

The  telephone  was  first  introduced  to  Fond  du  Lac  people  only 
twenty-seven  years  ago.  In  1878,  Mr.  Haskins  and  another  gentleman 
came  from  Milwaukee  to  show  us  the  new  wonder,  and  with  a  tem- 
porary cross  town  wire,  showed  us  that  a  message  could  be  talked 
over  it  and  the  voice  could  also  be  recognized.  How  we  all  stared 
with  wonder  as  we  listened.  But  it  was  three  years  later,  or  twenty- 
four  years  ago,  that  the  telephone  came  into  practical  use  by  an  ex- 
change. It  was  a  new  thing  then,  now  it  is  old  and  we  can  well 
wonder  how  we  could  get  along  without  it.  But  we  did  up  to 
twenty-four  years  ago,  and  pretty  well  too. 

Darling's  Gap,  Oakfield. 

What  is  known  as  "Darling's  Gap,"  Oakfield.  is  entitled  to  at 
least  historical  remembrance  of  its  early  day  condition.  A  gap  at  an 
angle  north  and  south  of  about  thirty  degrees,  occurs  at  a  high  point 
in  the  ledge  and  for  many  years  was  about  the  only  place  at  which  the 
ascent  could  be  made  without  great  danger.  It  was  not  a  wagon  road, 
yet  wagons  had  been  through  it.  It  was  a  rough  place  but  it  served 
its  purpose  for  the  people  to  get  up  and  down  the  ledge. 

Some  White  Indians. 

Edward  Beeson.  A.  H.  Clark,  Capt.  Soper,  J.  B.  Clock,  C.  N. 
Kendall,  John  Hale  and  Darius  Hooker  made  up  into  as  perfect  a 
band  of  tom-tom  beating  and  dancing  Indians  as  one  might  wish  to 
see.  They  were  at  the  first  masquerade  of  the  German  and  English 
academy  and  at  other  entertainments  after  that,  and  a  crowd  was  sure 
to  surround  them  when  they  appeared. 


Lawsuit  for  a  Calf. 

When  David  Babcock  was  Clerk  of  the  Court,  a  lawsuit  was  be- 
gun involving  the  value  of  a  calf  less  than  a  year  old,  but  which  was 
three  years  old  when  the  suit  ended  and  the  two  men  had  nearly 
sacrificed  their  farms  in  costs  and  expenses.  Both  men  claimed  the 
calf  and  brought  proof  so  positive  that  it  was  difficult  to  get  a  jury 
to  agree.  The  suit  came  from  the  southwest  part  of  the  county,  and 
as  Dave  used  to  tell  about  it,  was  an  exciting  suit.  It  was  first  tried 
in  justice  court  and  came  to  the  circuit  court  on  appeal,  where  it  was 
tried  several  times.  On  the  last  trial  the  jury  disagreed  and  Judge 
Taylor,  then  on  the  circuit  court  bench,  told  the  parties  they  must 
settle  it  themselves  or  he  would  settle  it  if  ever  it  appeared  on  the 
calendar  again.  It  did  not  come  to  trial  again  and  few  knew  how  it 
was  settled.  It  was  known,  however,  that  the  farmer  in  possession 
had  long  before  sold  the  animal  to  the  butcher  but  was  responsible 
for  its  value.  The  case  was  one  showing  how  persistent  some  men 
are  in  a  lawsuit. 


214  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Some  of  the  Railroad  Men. 

Those  people  who  have  come  to  manhood  and  womanhood  in 
the  last  forty  years,  have  little  conception  of  the  tribulations  incident 
to  handling  railroad  trains  in  early  times.  Forty  years  ago  the 
locomotive  engineer  had  the  sides  of  his  boiler  cumbered  with  pumps 
and  the  appliances  for  operating  them,  and  in  winter  had  to  be  on  the 
alert  constantly  to  keep  them  from  freezing,  and  his  method  of  oiling 
cylinders  was  quite  different  from  what  it  is  now.  The  pump  had  to 
be  used  to  supply  the  boiler  with  water,  now  the  injector  is  used  so 
easy,  quiet  and  sure  that  no  trouble  or  anxiety  is  felt  about  it.  To 
watch  the  water  gauge  is  about  all  the  engineer  has  to  do. 

And  the  brakeman,  well  that  railroad  employe  as  old  timers 
knew  him,  is  now  wholly  unknown.  The  air  brake  has  left  him  out. 
Until  well  along  in  the  sixties  we  were  accustomed  to  see  a  brake- 
man  rush  out  of  the  passenger  coaches  obeying  the  signal  of  the 
engineer  to  turn  tighter  or  loosen  the  little  brake  wheels.  The 
brakeman  played  a  very  important  part  in  bringing  the  train  to  a 
stop  at  a  station.  Now  the  engineer  does  it  all  with  his  air  brake. 
And  on  freight  trains  in  old  times,  one  could  see  a  lot  of  men  running 
about  on  top  of  the  cars,  stopping  now  and  then  to  give  the  brake 
wheels  a  turn.  We  now  see  these  brakemen  only  in  switching  yards 
and  in  making  up  of  trains.  The  brakeman  of  today  has  little  of  the 
duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  brakeman  of  early  times. 

This  has  been  brought  about  by  the  air  brake,  the  invention  of 
which  is  credited  by  some  to  the  Wisconsin  state  prison.  In  1866, 
when  Alex.  P.  Hodges  was  state  prison  commissioner,  the  writer  one 
day  while  on  a  visit  to  that  institution,  was  shown  the  drawings  of 
a  proposed  air  brake  for  railroad  cars,  made  by  a  prisoner.  It  was 
ingenious,  but  at  the  time  seemed  wild,  and  little  was  heard  about 
it,  but  in  a  year  or  two  the  ingenious  Westinghouse  people  were 
announced  to  have  applied  air  to  the  braking  of  trains  on  railroads. 
It  was  subsequently  insisted  by  employes  at  the  prison,  that  not  only 
the  idea  but  the  principles  of  its  application  were  obtained  there  by 
those  in  the  Westinghouse  interests.  The  idea  at  this  time  was  air 
by  pressure,  but  it  was  soon  found  that  the  vacuum  principle  could 
be  made  more  effective  and  safer  and  was  first  applied  by  Westing- 
house. The  patent  on  it  long  since  expired  and  is  now  used  on  all 
railroads.  But  Fond  du  Lac  had  an  air  brake  inventor  in  Jo.  Irwin, 
at  the  time  rnaster  mechanic  of  the  Sheboygan  road.  His  patent  was 
for  the  use  of  direct  pressure,  and  for  that  principle  is  believed  to  be 
the  best  ever  brought  out.  He  applied  it  to  cars  on  his  road,  most 
effectively,  but  the  vacuum  idea  displaced  it.  The  railroads  still  have 
brakemen  but  their  duties  are  quite  different  from  the  early  day 
brakeman. 


There  have  been  close  votes  in  Fond  du  Lac  county  a  number  of 
times  in  the  election  of  county  officers,  but  none  quite  so  close  as 
that  of  John  B.  Wilbor  over  George  W.  Sawyer  in  1858,  for  County 
Treas\irer,  by  a  majority  of  i. 


THINKING,  TALKING.  ACTING 


How  the   Pioneer  Settlers  and   Business   Men  Thought,   Talked  and 

Acted    in    Pursuit    of    Business    and    in 

Social  Life. 


Franklin  Fire  Insurance  Company. 

The  Franklin  Fire  Insurance  Company  was  a  Fond  du  Lac  insti- 
tution, organized  in  1850,  and  for  some  years  was  quite  prosperous, 
the  officers  were  N.  M.  Donaldson,  President;  H.  W.  Wolcott,  Vice- 
President  ;  W.  T.  Gibson,  Secretary ;  Allen  Gibson,  Actuary ;  E. 
Perkins,  Treasurer.  The  company  might  be  yet  one  of  the  strong 
financial  institutions  of  Fond  du  Lac,  if  it  had  been  properly  managed. 
It  was  running  along  smoothly,  when  suddenly  and  to  the  surprise  of 
all,  it  collapsed.  The  Gibsons  were  experienced  insurance  men  and 
it  was  apparently  their  aim  to  build  up  a  strong  and  popular  company, 
but  after  a  few  years,  like  so  many  other  men  under  like  circum- 
stances, they  overstepped  the  boundaries  of  financial  prudence  in  the 
hope  of  piling  up  assets  more  rapidly  and  failed.  They  began  taking 
risks  on  hazardous  property  that  was  promptly  refused  at  the  begin- 
ning, but  most  disastrous  of  all,  they  began  writing  policies  on  mills, 
the  rate  on  which  had  long  been  so  high  as  to  be  almost  prohibitory. 
For  a  long  time  it  seemed  that  almost  every  mill  the  Franklin 
touched  was  burned  and  the  pressure  of  losses  became  more  than  the 
company  could  stand.  This  was  the  great  mistake  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Franklin  Fire  Insurance  Company.  Had  the  same  con- 
servative management  been  continued  that  marked  its  beginning,  who 
can  tell  what  it  might  have  grown  to  be  in  the  business  of  Fond  du 
Lac.  W.  T.  Gibson  also  conducted  an  insurance  agency  and  had  a 
long  list  of  the  best  companies,  but  abandoned  it  all  after  the  collapse 
of  the  Franklin,  and  established  himself  in  the  insurance  business  at 
Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death,  a 
few  months  ago.  Allen  Gibson  died  at  Rockford,  111.,  many  years 
ago.  He  was  the  manager,  if  indeed  he  was  not  the  organizer  of  the 
old  Rock  River  Mutual  Insurance  Company  that  went  up  the  spout 
after  a  limited  career. 

Fooled  Away  His  Money. 

In  the  fall  of  1855,  a  man  well  advanced  in  life,  named  Stephen 
Ferine,  appeared  in  Fond  du  Lac.  He  had  plenty  of  money  and  re- 
tained S,  D.  Stanchfield  as  his  attorney.  He  bought  a  couple  of  city 
lots  but  said  he  wanted  to  buy  property  that  he  could  turn  over 
rapidly  and  make  money.  He  soon  became  known  to  the  sharpers 
about  town  and  those  who  had  any  old  truck  that  they  wished  to  get 
rid  of,  they  were  sure  to  work  it  ofif  on  Uncle  Ferine,  and  so  in  a 
few  months  he  was  loaded  with  moth-eaten  furs,  shoddy  cloth,  shop 


216  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

worn  boots  and  shoes,  worthless  groceries,  dilapidated  store  fixtures, 
and  so  on  ad  infinitum.  Mr.'  Stanchfield  tried  to  stop  him,  but  it  was 
no  use.  In  a  couple  of  years  his  money  was  all  gone,  and  all  he  had 
to  show  for  it,  besides  the  two  city  lots,  was  a  lot  of  old  truck  that 
he  could  hardly  give  away.  Mr.  Stanchfield  succeeded  in  getting  his 
history  and  it  was  found  that  he  had  a  family  in  Ohio  that  was  wealthy 
and  had  sent  him  west  to  stay.  In  early  life  he  was  an  active  man  and 
accumulated  much  money  in  handling,  feeding  and  driving  cattle,  but 
in  after  life  he  became  a  burden,  fooling  away  his  money  and  doing 
many  foolish  things.  His  wife  managed  to  get  things  into  her  own 
hands  and  finally  told  him  if  he  would  go  west,  where  he  said  there 
were  such  grand  chances  for  investments,  and  stay  there,  she  would 
give  him  $20,000  in  cash.  He  accepted  the  ofTer  and  this  was  the 
money  he  brought  to  Fond  du  Lac  and  squandered  so  quickly.  When 
it  was  gone,  he  importuned  her  for  more,  and  she  came  here  on  his 
representation  of  the  good  chance  for  investment,  but  after  looking 
the  ground  over,  went  back  to  Ohio  without  leaving  a  dollar.  To 
cap  the  climax  of  absurdity,  he  now  sold  his  city  lots  and  married  a 
little  woman  crippled  with  rheumatism,  and  he  lived  in  a  small  house, 
a  little  better  than  a  shanty,  on  Fourth  street.  He  was  soon  compelled 
to  do  little  jobs  like  sawing  wood,  hoeing  gardens,  cleaning  cellars, 
etc.,  to  the  end  of  his  life  in  1863.  He  had  very  little  education  and 
the  last  years  of  his  life  little  judgment  in  business  matters.  He  said 
his  family  in  Ohio  had  $75,000  of  his  money,  but  he  could  not  get  any 
of  it.  Mr.  Stanchfield  tried  hard  to  save  for  him  some  of  his  $20,000, 
but  he  was  so  stubborn  that  he  could  do  nothing  and  gave  it  up, 
leaving  the  old  man  to  die  a  pauper. 

R.  R.  V.  U.  Railroad  Company. 

The  first  ground  broken  on  the  Fond  du  Lac  end  of  what  is  now 
the  Northwestern  railroad,  was  on  July  4th,  185 1,  and  took  place  at 
lowertown.  John  B.  Macy  was  there  and  made  a  speech.  Waiting 
for  the  iron  for  the  road  to  come  from  England,  little  was  done  for  a 
couple  of  years.  Robert  J.  Walker,  then  secretary  of  the  treasury 
in  Buchanan's  cabinet,  and  Mr.  Macy,  were  the  chief  promoters. 
The  company  was  first  known  as  the  Rock  River  Valley  Union  Rail- 
road Company,  then  changed  to  the  Chicago,  St.  Paul  8z  Fond  du  Lac, 
and  on  the  re-organization  was  named  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern, 
the  name  it  has  borne  ever  since.  The  line  was  first  built  to  Chester, 
and  to  operate  it,  a  switch  engine  named  Winnebago,  was  loaded  at 
Sheboygan  and  brought  across  the  country  to  Fond  du  Lac.  The 
car  shops  were  started  here  and  built  the  cars  used.  In  a  couple  of 
years  the  line  was  extended  to  Minnesota  Junction  to  connect  with 
the  Milwaukee  &  La  Crosse  road  and  we  had  a  through  railroad  line 
to  Milwaukee.  Fond  du  Lac  people  then  felt  that  they  were  truly 
out  of  the  woods.  During  this  time  two  passenger  engines,  the 
Fountain  City  and  Rock  River,  were  brought  from  Sheboygan,  and 
virtually  wrecked  the  plank  road.  The  road  had  a  gauge  of  six  feet, 
but  to  secure  best  results  at  junction  points  it  became  necessary  to 
change  the  gauge  of  the  road  and  rolling  stock  to  the  standard  gauge 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  217 

of  four  feet,  eight  and  one-half  inches,  which  was  done  quickly  when 
all  was  ready.  The  line  was  now  extended  south  from  Minnesota 
Junction  and  the  south  end  was  built  on  northward  from  Woodstock, 
until  in  1858  the  two  met  and  we  had  a  through  line  to  Chicago.  The 
line  was  being  also  pushed  north  and  Oshkosh,  Appleton  and  Green 
Bay  became  near  neighbors. 

Early  Days  of  Spiritualism. 

Spiritualism  had  its  start  in  what  was  called  the  "Rochester 
Knockings"  of  the  Fox  sisters,  in  1848.  The  phenomena  brought  in- 
vestigation by  some  of  the  brightest  minds  of  the  country,  including 
Judge  Edmunds,  A.  J.  Davis,  Horace  Mann  and  many  others.  Many 
able  and  interesting  books  were  issued  in  its  support,  among  them 
"Nature's  Divine  Revelations,"  by  Andrew  J.  Davis,  a  most  ingenious 
and  attractive  writer.  The  doctrines  spread  and  between  1852  and 
i860,  Fond  du  Lac  had  its  full  share  in  the  movement.  In  the  midst 
of  it,  in  1857,  circles  were  held  almost  nightly  at  the  homes  of  citizens. 
Lectures  were  arranged  for  by  eminent  speakers,  including  Emma 
Frances  Jay,  Cora  L.  V.  Hatch  and  Messrs.  Finney,  Wilson, 
Tallmadge  and  many  others.  It  was  in  1857  that  the  discussion  took 
place  in  Amory  hall  between  T.  G.  Kutchin  and  Mr.  Finney,  which 
occasioned  much  excitement.  The  following  year  the  hall  was  built 
that  is  now  the  Division  Street  Methodist  Church.  As  the  feeling 
subsided  over  spiritualism,  the  hall  was  transferred  first  to  the  Uni- 
tarians, then  to  the  Universalists,  and  finally  to  the  ^Methodists,  who 
changed  it  to  what  it  is  now. 

The  origin  of  spiritualism  in  Fond  du  Lac  was  at  the  home  of 
Mrs.  Fisher,  in  Empire,  who  produced  the  phenomena  of  a  writing 
medium.  Then  a  number  of  local  mediums  of  varying  powers  were 
developed  in  rapid  succession,  including  Mrs.  Stow,  Van  Vleck,  Holt, 
Fairchild,  the  Potter  children,  and  others,  test  circles  were  held, 
socials  arranged,  services  held  Sundays  and  the  faith  seemed  to  be 
strong  in  all  parts  of  the  spiritualist  work.  But  eventually  nature's 
law,  that  "an  excess  is  always  followed  by  a  corresponding  reaction," 
prevailed  and  the  faith  took  a  downward  turn,  possibly  aided  by  the 
excitements  of  the  war,  and  slowly  subsided  and  in  two  years  little 
was  heard  of  it.  This  condition  of  things  has  continued  to  the  present 
and  it  is  seldom  heard  of  now.  There  are  still  some  spiritualists,  but 
they  seem  not  to  be  demonstrative. 

A  Well  Known  Pioneer. 

Who  of  the  early  settlers  fails  to  remember  Jo.  King,  father  of 
Mrs.  A.  \\\  Chapman,  the  latter  still  with  us  and  an  honored  member 
of  the  Old  Settlers'  Club.  Jo.  King  was  one  of  the  characters  of  early 
days.  He  was  a  Frenchman  and  came  here  in  1846.  He  was  a  natural 
born  trader  and  was  always  ready  to  swap  anything  he  possessed, 
from  a  jack  knife  to  a  house  and  lot.  It  was  said  of  him  that  he  could 
see  the  defects  in  a  horse  at  a  glance,  therefore  took  delight  in  buying, 
selling  and  trading  horses.  He  was  very  quick  on  his  feet  and  would 
get  a  deal  finished  and  be  gone  in  the  time  many  men  would  be  getting 


218  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

ready.  He  was  also  a  good  judge  of  the  characters  of  men,  and  no 
doubt  here  was  his  great  advantage  in  dealing  with  them.  He  was 
so  well  known  to  all  classes  of  citizens  and  through  so  many  years, 
that  a  history  of  Fond  du  Lac  without  a  notice  of  Jo.  King  would  be 
incomplete.        # 

Louis  Russell  was  another  of  the  peculiar  Frenchmen  of  Fond  du 
Lac,  whom  everybody  knew.  He  and  Jo.  King  were  as  near  alike  as 
two  eggs  and  it  was  a  joke  to  get  them  together  for  a  horse  trade. 
They  were  sharp  in  any  sort  of  a  deal  and  each  pretty  sure  not  to  let 
the  other  fellow  get  the  better  of  him.  Once  Peter  V.  Sang  fixed  up  a 
horse  in  good  shape  and  beat  Louis  bad.  He  said  nothing,  however, 
and  "laid  for"  Sang  and  caught  him  for  what  Sang  said  was  the 
worst  thing  of  his  life. 

Brought  a  Bear  to  Market. 

One  day  in  the  early  fifties,  a  German,  speaking  very  little 
English,  appeared  on  the  streets  of  Fond  du  Lac  with  a  cart  and  a 
yoke  of  oxen,  and  in  the  cart  was  the  carcass  of  the  largest  black  bear 
ever  seen  here.  The  afternoon  before,  the  bear  came  into  a  clearing 
where  the  German  was  at  work,  in  the  town  of  Calumet.  He  coolly 
picked  up  his  smooth-bore  gun  and  gave  the  bear  a  slug  that  disabled, 
but  did  not  kill  him,  then  deliberately  loaded  the  gun  again  and  gave 
him  another  dose,  which  also  failed  and  the  job  was  completed  with 
an  ax.  Few  men  would  have  dared  to  do  what  that  German  did  and 
it  was  very  amusing  to  hear  him  in  broken  English,  tell  about  it. 
The  size  of  that  bear's  feet  and  the  length  of  his  claws  made  one  feel 
that  he  would  like  to  keep  out  of  the  way  when  the  owner  was  out 
on  a  foraging  scout.  J.  W.  Partridge,  the  druggist,  bought  the  bear 
for  $4.50  and  the  German  went  home  well  satisfied  with  his  trip, 
although  the  skin  alone  was  worth  more.  There  was  considerable  oil 
which  Mr.  Partridge  tried  out  and  sold  at  a  high  price  to  H.  Bosworth 
&  Sons,  the  Milwaukee  wholesale  druggists.  There  were  a  few  bears 
in  the  timbered  regions  in  an  early  day,  but  they  were  never  numerous 
in  this  part  of  the  state.  The  Indians  killed  ofif  many,  as  they  also 
did  the  deer. 

A  Prominent  Farmer. 

Another  of  the  pioneer  men  whose  acquaintance  extended  over 
the  entire  country  was  John  H.  Martin,  whose  farm  south  of  the  city 
is  now  partly  within  the  city  limits.  Mr.  Martin  was  an  expert  in 
handling  stock,  especially  cattle,  and  buying,  selling  and  holding  so 
many,  came  to  be  known  as  "the  cattle  drover."  The  butchers  bought 
most  of  their  stock  of  him  and  so  accurate  was  his  knowledge  of 
cattle  that  when  a  sale  was  made  they  were  not  weighed,  as  he  could 
estimate  the  weight  by  sight  within  a  very  few  pounds.  He  once 
estimated  the  weight  of  eight  head  of  beef  cattle,  sold  by  Elisha  Hall, 
Lamartine,  to  D.  D.  Cooper,  the  butcher,  but  Cooper,  believing  he 
estimated  too  high,  had  them  weighed  and  Mr.  Martin's  figures  were 
seven  pounds  too  low.  He  possessed  another  peculiar  faculty ;  he 
could  correctly  count  a  flock  of  sheep  out  in  the  field  without  the 
trouble  of  running  them  through  a  gap,  as  is  generally  done.     It  was 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  219 

said  of  him  that  while  he  knew  all  the  tricks  of  stockmen,  he  never 
practiced  them.  In  business  he  was  strictly  honest,  in  social  life 
genial  and  pleasant.  All  old  settlers  of  the  country  remember  J.  H. 
Martin  as  a  reliable  and  honorable  citizen.  He  was  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania on  the  last  day  of  the  year  1806,  came  to  Fond  du  Lac  in  1846 
and  died  in  1883.  Before  coming  west  he  was  for  six  years  in  charge 
of  the  great  stock  farm  of  Gen.  Wadsworth,  in  the  state  of  New  York, 
and  handled  stock  in  Chicago  and  Racine  before  coming  here.  He 
was  a  director  of  the  First  National  Bank  from  the  time  of  its  organi- 
zation until  his  death. 

Elder  Rogers  and  the  Contrabands. 

Elder  Rogers,  pastor  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  Baptist  Church  in  1862, 
was  appointed  chaplain  of  the  Fourteenth  regiment.  When  the  regi- 
ment arrived  with  other  troops  at  Island  No.  10,  the  question  was 
under  discussion  what  to  do  with  the  great  number  of  negroes  there, 
known  as  "contrabands."  They  were  yet  property  at  that  time  and 
were  held  by  the  government  as  contraband  of  war.  So  many  of  the 
younger  men  having  gone  to  the  war.  Elder  Rogers  thought  labor 
was  very  much  needed  here  and  proposed  bringing  some  of  the 
negroes  here,  thus  relieving  the  government  of  the  care  of  them  and 
furnishing  labor  at  the  same  time.  He  was  given  about  three  hundred 
of  them  and  brought  them  to  Fond  du  Lac,  Beaver  Dam  and  Fox 
Lake.  This,  as  all  know,  is  where  our  stock  of  negroes  came  from. 
Before  this  there  were  but  about  five  or  six  colored  people  in  Fond  du 
Lac,  and  often  less  than  that  number.  The  habitat  of  the  negro  is  a 
warmer  country  than  this  and  it  is  not  healthful  for  him  here  and 
never  will  be. 

Thought  High  Ceilings  a  Mistake. 

Charles  Chandler,  who  died  a  few  years  ago,  was  a  well  known  cit- 
izen and  with  Daniel  W.  Smith  composed  the  early  day  firm  of  Smith 
&  Chandler,  who  conducted  a  general  store  in  Fond  du  Lac  many 
years.  At  one  time  Mr.  Chandler  built  three  houses  and  himself  lived 
in  the  one  on  Fifth  street.  He  told  the  writer  that  in  all  three  of  his 
houses  there  was  the  same  mistake  that  is  so  often  found  in  buildings, 
that  of  making  them  so  high  between  joints  that  it  is  difficult  to  warm 
them  in  winter.  One  of  his  houses  was  fourteen  feet  high  in  the  first 
story  and  it  was  very  difficult,  without  burning  a  large  amount  of  fuel, 
to  keep  warm  in  cold  weather.  A  family  moved  out  of  it  because 
they  could  not  keep  warm.  Some  people  build  such  houses  because 
they  think  a  high  ceiling  looks  nice,  and  it  does,  but  as  Mr.  Chandler 
said,  "it  makes  a  woodpile  look  sick."  Perhaps  it  would  be  well  for 
those  building  moderate  sized  houses,  to  remember  Mr.  Chandler's 
experience. 

Capt.  Knapp  and  the  Badger  State. 

The  steamboat,  Badger  State,  Capt.  W.  A.  Knapp,  was  in  her  day 
the  handsomest  appearing  steamer  that  ever  stirred  the  water  of  Lake 
Winnebago  and  Fox  river.  She  sat  like  a  duck  on  the  water  and 
Capt.   Knapp  took  pride   in   her  appearance.     Her  regular  route  for 


220  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

years  was  between  Oshkosh  and  Berlin,  or  Strong's  Landing,  as  it 
was  known  in  1850.  There  was  afterwards  a  steamer  W.  A.  Knapp, 
which  for  one  season  was  put  on  the  lake  between  Fond  du  Lac  and 
east  shore  landings,  but  was  found  not  to  pay.  The  steamer  Tom 
Wall,  Capt.  Anson,  was  the  largest  boat  ever  known  to  these  waters. 
So  little  attention  has  been  given  to  navigation  on  the  lake  in  the  last 
thirty  years  that  even  the  names  of  many  localities  along  its  shores 
have  been  forgotten.  In  former  years  those  names  were  constantly 
in  use,  now  they  are  seldom  or  never  heard.  The  railroads  did  the 
mischief.  Steamboats  were  too  slow  for  this  fast  age,  and  when  rail- 
road transportation  came,  water  transportation  went. 

A  Tedious  Trip  for  Travelers. 

Before  the  railroad  was  built  between  Fond  du  Lac  and  Ripon, 
it  was  necessary  for  traveling  men  to  cross  the  country  with  livery 
rigs.  The  trip  was  sometimes  a  hard  one,  especially  through  the 
"Eldorado  woods,"  sometimes  a  veritable  swamp.  On  one  of  his 
many  trips  over  this  road,  with  two  traveling  men  and  four  big 
sample  trunks.  The,  Matson's  spring  wagon  upset  in  the  mud  and  he 
had  a  tough  time  of  it.  The  two  men  went  on  to  Rosendale  on  foot 
and  "The"  got  three  farmers,  one  of  them  "Big  Fred,"  chairman  of 
the  town,  to  help  get  the  trunks  out  of  the  mud  and  the  wagon 
righted.  It  cost  him  three  dollars  and  one  dollar  more  at  Ripon,  to 
wash  the  trunks.  The  question  now  was,  who  should  pay  the  bill  of 
four  dollars.  The  traveling  men  insisted  that  it  was  none  of  their 
affair  and  when  "Big  Fred"  was  asked  to  have  the  town  pay  it  for 
having  such  bad  roads,  his  reply  was,  "Sue  the  Almighty,  for  sending 
so  much  rain."  The.  Matson  had  already  paid  it  and  the  result  was 
never  changed.  Those  "Eldorado  woods"  were  the  bugbear  to  travel 
for  many  years. 

Quick  Answer  to  Call. 

The  first  soldiers  sent  to  the  war  by  Fond  du  Lac,  were  enlisted 
in  April,  1861,  and  became  Co.  K,  of  the  First  Wisconsin  regiment, 
under  Col.  John  C.  Starkweather,  The  company  was  filled  to  the 
maximum  inside  of  two  days,  and  elected  James  V,  McCall  captain. 
The  boys  did  not  make  a  long  thing  of  it.  The  enlistment  roll  was 
in  Soule's  music  store,  where  Voell's  music  store  is  now,  and  the 
boys  went  in,  put  down  their  names  and  the  whole  outfit  was  in 
Milwaukee  in  camp  inside  of  a  week.  That  is  the  way  the  young 
men  did  things  in  1861,  after  Fort  Sumter  had  been  fired  on  and  the 
Union  was  in  danger.  The  next  company  was  enlisted  by  Gen.  E. 
S.  Bragg  and  Edwin  A.  Brown  and  was  done  about  as  quick.  It  was 
put  into  the  Sixth  Wisconsin  regiment,  as  Co.  E,  and  we  all  know 
its  record. 

Fell  Into  the  River. 

In  1 85 1,  a  large  tree  standing  on  the  bank  of  the  river  near  where 
the  Howie  house  is  now,  blew  over  and  fell  directly  across  the 
channel.  It  was  for  a  long  time  a  favorite  foot-log  and  the  boys,  and 
girls  too,  used  it  freely.     It  was  largely  woods  over  on  the  west  side 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  221 

then,  and  a  favorite  place  to  wander.  One  Sunday  afternoon  a  young 
woman  fell  plump  into  the  water  from  that  log,  and  the  current  being 
prett}'  strong,  she  floated  down  stream.  Her  escort,  afraid  of  spoiling 
his  clothes  probably,  failed  to  jump  in  after  her,  but  "Bill"  Ellsworth 
hearing  the  cries  and  well  filled  with  booze,  was  not  afraid,  and  with 
little  delay  brought  the  girl  out  of  the  water.  Bill  got  some  new 
trousers  for  the  job,  anyhow. 

First  Concrete  Cellars. 

The  home  occupied  by  Mrs.  W.  C.  Hamilton,  oh  Forest  avenue, 
was  owned  in  an  early  day  by  W.  T.  Gibson,  the  insurance  man,  but 
Mr.  Hamilton  changed  the  buildings  so  it  is  a  very  different  place 
from  what  it  was  originally.  It  was  in  the  basement  of  this  house 
that  Mr.  Gibson  tried  the  first  experiments  in  Fond  du  Lac  in  secur- 
ing a  concrete  or  cement  cellar.  He  tried  the  experiment  in  different 
forms  five  or  six  times,  but  was  unable  to  keep  the  water  and  frost 
out  more  than  one  season.  He  told  the  writer  that  he  believed  it  im- 
possible to  succeed  in  such  an  undertaking  in  Fond  du  Lac.  But 
other  methods  did  succeed  and  on  the  same  premises  too. 

A  Dangerous  Cannon. 

For  a  long  time  there  was  a  large  field  piece  cannon  at  lower- 
town,  wholly  without  fixtures  of  any  sort.  It  was  too  large  and 
heavy  for  small  boys  to  handle  and  so  was  let  alone  by  them.  But 
on  special  occasion  the  men  handled  it  and  so  on  July  4,  1857,  placed 
it  on  a  pile  of  railroad  ties  to  fire  it.  After  a  few  rounds  there  was  a 
premature  explosion  and  a  young  man  killed.  The  cannon  had  done 
mischief  once  before,  but  no  one  was  killed,  so  it  was  deemed  best 
to  get  rid  of  it  and  it  was  taken  over  to  Peacock  &  White's  foundry 
and  melted  down.     That  was  the  last  of  the  lowertown  cannon. 

Early  Day  Skating  Trip, 

One  afternoon  in  the  winter  of  1851,  a  half  dozen  young  men, 
among  whom  was  the  writer,  put  on  skates  at  Forest  street  bridge, 
went  down  the  river  to  the  lake  shore,  thence  east  to  Taycheedah  and 
then  across  the  marsh  to  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Division  street 
and  Park  avenue,  where  we  took  off  our  skates.  There  was  good 
skating  all  the  way  and  we  have  wondered  many  times  if  there  has 
ever  since  been  good  skating  over  that  route.    Doubtful. 

A  Rotten  Egg  Dealer. 

When  you  wish  to  buy  eggs  do  not  buy  them  from  an  adventurer 
from  Waushara  county,  as  some  of  our  dealers  did  once.  The  man 
came  here  from  the  "Indian  Land,"  saying  his  eggs  were  nice  and 
fresh,  but  J.  W.  Carpenter  first  discovered  that  nine  out  of  ten  of 
them  were  bad.  and  followed  the  fellow  nearly  to  Rosendale,  com- 
pelled him  to  return  and  take  them.  It  was  afterwards  learned  that 
he  sold  them  again  at  Ripon. 


222  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Another  Old  Settlers'  Club. 

There  are  probably  few  people  in  Fond  du  Lac  county  now,  who 
remember  that  an  Old  Settlers'  Club  was  organized  more  than  thirty 
years  ago.  In  June,  1874,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  Patty  House 
for  the  purpose  of  organizing  such  a  club.  Edward  Beeson,  Charles 
Olmsted  and  Wm.  StCAvart  were  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare 
a  plan  and  draft  a  constitution  and  by-laws,  but  nothing  further 
seems  to  have  been  done  until  the  next  year.  In  1875  ^  successful 
picnic  was  held  and  organization  effected.  In  1876  another  picnic 
was  held  but  not  as  successful  as  the  first  one,  and  from  this  time 
the  club  was  not  heard  of — it  was  forgotten  by  Mr.  Beeson,  who  was 
the  chief  mover,  and-  was  finally  forgotten  by  all  to  the  extent  that 
it  is  doubtful  if  there  are  twenty  people  in  the  county  now  who  re- 
member that  there  ever  was  such  a  club.  The  object  was  to  collect 
historical  facts  and  relics  and  preserve  them,  and  especially  to  collect 
biographical  notes  and  put  them  in  such  shape  that  the  pioneers  and 
their  immediate  successors  should  not  be  lost  to  memory. 

It  is  quite  unfortunate  for  the  club  of  today,  that  no  one  appeared 
to  take  up  the  work  contemplated  by  the  club  of  1874.  Thirty  years 
have  passed  and  during  that  time  pioneers  have  passed  away  rapidly 
and  valuable  historical  facts  have  become  forever  lost.  Every  day  of 
delay  now  but  adds  to  the  difficulties.  Our  predecessors  realized  the 
value  and  the  necessity  of  this  work,  but  it  seems  did  not  realize  the 
necessity  of  personal  effort  in  doing  it.  A  few  persons  cannot  do  it 
all.  Every  one  interested  should  do  something.  In  no  other  way 
can  it  be  a  success. 

A  business  and  personal  history  is  what  is  most  needed.  We 
must  not  let  the  different  lines  of  business,  the  individual  efforts  of 
men  in  promoting  manufactures,  and  personal  matters  of  interest 
should  not  be  allowed  to  drop  into  forgetfulness.  All  citizens  of 
Fond  du  Lac,  old  and  young  alike,  are  interested  in  this  work. 

Nearly  all  the  cities  and  counties  of  the  state  now  have  these 
clubs  and  societies,  many  of  them  places  much  smaller  and  of  far 
less  importance  than  Fond  du  Lac. 


Manley  Fell  Into  the  River. 

J.  W.  Manley  was  one  of  the  old  time  employes  of  the  North- 
western Road.  He  was  a  first-class  mechanic  in  his  line  and  a  citizen 
whom  everybody  respected.  He  was  here  from  the  early  days  until 
he  died  in  1886.  Engaged  in  repairing  the  Brooke  street  bridge,  one 
of  Manley's  gang  tumbled  into  the  river,  but  in  such  a  way  that  he 
got  wet  only  to  the  waist.  The  affair  was  so  comical  that  Alanley 
could  not  get  over  laughing,  but  he  got  his  pay,  for  not  long  after 
Manley  tripped  and  went  in  all  over — not  a  dry  thread  on  him.  Of 
course  the  men  laughed  and  so  did  he.  ''Now  see  here,  boys,"  said 
Manley,  "I'm  your  boss,  and  when  you  do  a  thing  I  want  you  to  do 
it  right.  What's  the  use  of  getting  wet  only  to  your  knees,  when  you 
get  a  fall  into  the  river.  Why  not  make  a  good  job  and  get  wet  all 
over,  as  I  do."     He  said  he  didn't  l)elieve  in  half  doing  a  thing. 


A  LONG  TIME  AGO 


Incidents  and  Anecdotes  of  the  Long  Ago,   But  Were  Interesting. 

Then  and  are  Interesting  Now  to  the 

Old  and  Young. 


Did  Not  Like  Politics. 

H.  K.  Laughlin,  one  of  the  most  highly  respected  merchants 
Fond  du  Lac  has  ever  had,  was  a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York, 
but  before  coming  here,  held  a  high  position  in  one  of  the  departments 
at  Washington,  under  the  administration  of  James  K.  Polk.  But  in 
Fond  du  Lac  could  not  be  induced  to  touch  politics.  Twice  when 
it  was  desired  to  run  him  for  mayor,  he  not  only  declined,  but  seemed 
offended  and  said  politics  had  become  too  nasty  for  him. 

First  Methodist  Church  Here. 

The  old  church  building  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Marr  and 
Third  streets,  which  recently  gave  place  to  the  fine  brick  structure 
of  the  Evangelical  Association,  was  the  first  built  here  of  any  pre- 
tensions. The  Congregationalists  had  a  small  building  where  the 
Crescent  Opera  House  is  now,  and  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  was  a  small 
building  where  that  church  is  now.  The  Baptist  came  two  or  three 
years  later.  Previous  to  the  erection  of  the  building  at  the  corner  of 
Marr  and  Third,  the  Methodist  people  held  services  at  the  court  house, 
in  school  houses  and  in  private  houses,  but  as  Bishop  Ames  was  to 
hold  a  session  of  the  Wisconsin  annual  conference  here  in  1852,  they 
determined  to  erect  a  church,  and  this  was  the  result.  It  had  a  bell  in 
the  steeple  for  several  years  which  was  rung  at  7  a.  m.,  at  12  m.,  i,  6 
and  9  p.  m.,  at  the  expense  of  the  city.  The  building  occupied  since 
the  old  one  was  vacated,  known  as  Division  Street  Church,  was  built 
by  the  Spiritualists,  afterwards  used  by  Unitarians  and  Universalists. 
Soon  another  of  the  pioneer  churches  of  Fond  du  Lac,  the  Baptist, 
will  disappear  as  that  congregation  has  its  plans  all  ready  for  a  new 
building.  The  old  Episcopal,  the  old  Methodist,  the  old  Congrega- 
tional, the  old  St.  Joseph's  Catholic,  the  old  Plymouth,  the  old 
German  Methodist,  are  all  gone. 

Had  a  Blister  to  Fight. 

In  the  fifties,  when  the  Illinois  Central  railroad  was  being  built 
from  Chicago  to  Cairo,  ague  and  bilious  fever  was  so  plentiful  that 
it  was  customary  for  laborers  and  bridge  builders  to  go  home  sick 
in  about  two  weeks.  So  difficult  was  it  to  get  and  keep  men  that  the 
railroad  company  furnished  free  transportation  to  all  who  would  go, 
besides  paying  big  wages.  Among  those  who  went  from  Fond  du  Lac 
was  Charley  McClanathan,  as  a  bridge  builder.  He  returned  sick  in 
the  usual  two  weeks  and  took  his  old  quarters  in  the  Globe  Hotel, 
now  Windsor  House.  His  malady  was  developed  into  congestion  of 
the  bowels  and  Dr.  Raymond  was  called.    The  doctor  put  on  a  blister 


224  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

in  the  evening,  directing  Charley  and  his  room-mate  to  leave  it  on 
until  it  scorched  the  skin  to  a  bright  red.  But  both  dropped  off  in 
sleep,  Charley  in  a  sort  of  delirium  and  his  room-mate  knew  nothing 
more  until  daylight,  when  he  awakened  to  find  Charley  sitting  on  the 
edge  of  his  bed  groaning  and  trying  to  pull  on  his  trousers.  The 
blister  had  burned  him  awfully,  and  the  room-mate  was  so  frightened 
at  his  neglect  that  he  started  at  once  for  the  doctor,  who,  when  told 
of  what  had  happened,  laughingly  remarked  that  he  was  glad  of  it. 
The  room-mate  felt  very  much  relieved  in  his  mind.  The  doctor  came 
over  and  dressed  the  blister  and  Charley  made  a  rapid  recovery.  Dr. 
Raymond  afterwards  told  us  he  expected  just  that  result  from  a  sick 
man  and  a  sleepy  printer. 

Attempt  at  Street  Improvement. 

The  first  improvement  of  Fond  du  Lac's  Main  street  was  a  "mud 
pike."  That  is  ditches  were  made  at  the  sides  and  the  dirt  thrown 
to  the  center  but  it  soon  slid  back.  The  next  effort  was  with  gravel, 
but  this  mixed  in  with  the  black  soil  and  soon  disappeared.  Then 
came  two  more  coats  of  gravel  with  the  same  result.  Now  came  the 
cry  of  plank  roads  and  our  Main  street  got  a  coating  of  two  and  one- 
half  inch  oak  plank,  but  the  under  side  of  those  being  on  the  moist 
ground  and  the  upper  side  in  the  hot  sun,  especially  after  a  shower,  the 
plank  curled  up  at  the  ends  like  a  rainbow  and  these  were  removed. 
Next  came  a  coat  of  broken  stone,  which  disappeared  and  with  it 
another  coat  of  gravel.  Now  stone  eight  or  ten  inches  wide,  set  on 
edge  end,  and  packed  in  sand,  was  tried  but  did  not  prove  lasting  and 
what  could  be  found  of  it  was  removed  for  another  coat  of  gravel  and 
broken  stone.  All  proved  ineffectual  for  making  a  decent  street.  Our 
black  soil  could  not  be  made  to  hold  up  any  material.  Now  came  the 
Nicholson  pavement  agitation.  It  had  been  used  in  other  cities  suc- 
cessfully and  it  was  resolved  to  try  it  here.  It  was  put  down  and  lasted 
several  years,  the  best  street  we  ever  had  to  that  time.  It  consisted  of 
a  board  bottom  and  pine  blocks  four  by  four  and  eight  inches  long. 
Now  came  the  cry  of  cedar  blocks  with  tarred  boards  and  blocks,  and 
have  been  a  great  success,  but  still  the  authorities  wanted  something 
better  and  the  result  has  been  the  use  of  brick.  Before  many  years 
some  of  the  present  streets  will  have  to  be  repaved  and  by  that  time 
we  shall  probably  be  able  to  determine  fully  what  system  is  the  best. 
We  have  about  three  feet  of  outside  material  mixed  with  our  black 
soil  on  Main  street,  and  maybe  the  paving  will  now  be  lasting. 

The  Hazen  Martial  Band. 

Who  of  the  old  settlers  does  not  remember  the  Hazen  Springvale 
Martial  Band?  .At  fairs,  ■4th  of  July,  political  meetings  and  other 
gatherings,  if  the  Hazen  Springvale  Band  was  there  or  to  be  there,  the 
crowd  was  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  All  the  band  were  Hazens  but 
one.  Uncle  W.  Florida.  Chester  and  Loren  Hazen  were  the  fifers, 
Sanford,  Lorenzo  and  Calvin  Hazen  the  snare  drummers,  and  Warren 
Florida,  the  bass  drummer.  When  they  were  in  Fond  du  Lac  at  the 
Harrison  political  meeting  in  1892,  the  statement  came  from  them  that 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  225 

this  was  probably  the  last  they  would  ever  play  together,  and  it  was. 
All  have  died  since  then.  The  band  was  organized  and  first  played 
in  the  Harrison  campaign  of  1840,  in  the  state  of  New  York,  so  they 
were  together  as  a  band,  more  than  half  a  century. 

A  Successful  Doctor. 

Dr.  T.  J.  Patchen  used  to  say  he  didn't  care  much  what  the  dis- 
ease was,  if  he  was  called  early  enough  to  the  bedside  of  the  patient. 
He  wanted  a  chance  at  it  in  the  beginning.  That  he  was  remarkably 
successful,  all  admit,  whether  of  his  school  or  not.  No  doubt  all 
physicians  often  feel  that  the}'  ought  to  have  been  called  earlier. 

A  Strong  Union  Man. 

T.  S.  Henry,  so  well  known  to  all  residents  as  Tom  Henry,  was 
a  violent  abolitionist,  and  was  ready  to  fight  a  "copperhead"  any 
minute.  Many  a  time  when  the  feeling  ran  high,  Tom  gave  such 
people  warning  to  go  slow  on  anti-union  talk.  He  was  a  true  repre- 
sentative of  union  sentiment. 

He  was  a  Spaniard. 

One  of  the  early  barbers  in  Fond  du  Lac  was  a  Spaniard,  known 
as  Francisco,  but  who,  when  he  went  to  the  polls  to  vote,  gave  the 
name  of  Miguel  Francisco  de  Paula.  Francisco  had  spent  most  of 
his  life  on  shipboard  and  knew  comparatively  little  of  land  life. 
Meaning  a  barn,  he  said  he  had  never  been  in  a  horse's  house  but  twice. 
It  was  quite  amusing  to  hear  him  tell  of  his  adventures,  which  he  was 
always  ready  to  do.  His  manner  of  telling  a  thing  was  as  amusing  as 
the  story.  He  came  here  from  Milwaukee  on  foot,  but  on  the  way 
got  a  ride  with  a  peddler,  who  went  into  a  house  and  told  Francisco 
to  drive  on  to  the  next  house.  He  told  the  peddler  that  he  never  talked 
to  a  horse  in  his  life  and  he  couldn't,  but  he  cufifed  him  and  called  him 
names  and  compelled  him  to  get  on  the  wagon  and  go  ahead.  "So  I 
started,"  said  Francisco,  "I  picked  up  the  strings,"  meaning  the  lines, 
"took  the  whip  and  hollered  gee  ho,  and  the  horse  went  toward  the 
ditch,  and  the  more  I  laid  on  the  whip  and  hollered  gee  ho,  the  more 
the  horses  went  toward  the  ditch  and  into  the  woods  on  a  run.  We 
struck  a  tree  and  broke  the  wagon  so  that  it  cost  ten  dollars  to  fix  it. 
He  took  my  three  dollars  and  I  went  on  foot.  When  he  saw  me  on  the 
street  here  a  week  after,  he  ran  after  me  and  cufifed  me  again."  In  his 
simplicity  he  thought  horses  were  driven  the  same  as  oxen,  and  having 
seen  the  whip  used  on  them  and  heard  "gee"  and  "haw,"  he  used  the 
whip  and  hollered  "gee  ho,"  when  he  drove  the  peddler's  team.  So 
ignorant  was  he  of  law  that  he  thought  to  get  back  a  stolen  razor  he 
must  find  the  thief  and  take  it  away  from  him.  As  F;"ancisco  was 
raised  mostly  on  shipboard,  even  ignorant  Spain  was  not  altogether 
responsible  for  his  crude  ideas. 

Fastest  Steamboats  on  the  Lake. 

The    steamers    Peytona,    Capt.    Estes,    and    Menasha,    Capt.    Peter 
Hotaling,  were  the  best  and  fastest  boats  ever  on  Lake  Winnebago. 


226  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

So  near  alike  were  they  in  speed,  that  in  making  the  run  from  Tay- 
cheedah.  they  would  enter  the  mouth  of  the  river  at  Oshkosh,  side 
by  side,  although  both  used  fine  split  wood  to  get  up  a  pressure  of 
steam. 

Were  Popular  Pioneers. 

Selim  Newton  and  Esek  Dexter,  known  to  all  as  "Squire"  New- 
ton and  "Uncle"  Dexter,  were  early  day  celebrities  and  favorites. 
Who  would  think  for  a  moment  of  saying  anything  against  either? 
Squire  Newton  was  the  standard  auctioneer,  and  his  general  wit  and 
jokes  kept  his  crowds  good  natured  and  generous.  He  was  a  quite 
noted  checker  player  and  in  this  ancient  game  was  regarded  as  the 
champion  of  the  town.  He  was  fluent  of  speech  and  could  talk 
rapidly  and  correctly,  and  on  the  auction  block  could  make  a  speech 
that  would  capture  the  crowd. 

Uncle  Dexter  was  a  carpenter  and  joiner,  and  carried  on  a  shop 
for  general  repairing  and  all  sorts  of  tinkering.  He  would  undertake 
almost  any  job  ordered,  from  a  piano  to  a  penny  whistle.  He,  like 
Newton,  was  filled  with  stories,  jokes  and  general  wit,  and  his  shop 
was  always  a  favorite  resort,  but  there  were  a  lot  of  old  men  cronies, 
who  were  to  be  found  there,  almost  night  and  day,  among  them  Squire 
Newton,  if  in  town  and  not  busy.  Squire  Newton  and  Uncle  Dexter 
were  old  gentlemen  that  the  people  honored. 

Disappearance  of  Five  Pies. 

At  an  early  date  an  old  gentleman  named  Chandler  had  a  small 
bakery  and  restaurant  next  door  south  of  the  Journal  ofifice.  One  day 
Dr.  Elliott  Brown,  noted  as  a  tremendous  eater,  asked  Mr.  Chandler 
what  he  would  charge  him  for  what  pie  he  could  eat.  The  price  of 
the  pies  was  one  shilling  each  and  Chandler  thought  he  would  be  safe 
at  two  shillings  or  twenty-five  cents,  as  he  was  sure  two  pies  would 
be  the  limit,  but  when  Dr.  Brown  had  finished  five,  Chandler  was 
ready  to  compromise.  Thirty  cents  paid  the  bill  and  the  trouble  over 
it  ended. 

Kept  Pies  and  Pop  Beer. 

Old  settlers  will  remember  the  Kirk  pie  shop  and  pop  beer  stand, 
on  the  ground  where  the  Kummerow  &  Menge  liquor  store  is  now. 
This  place  was  not  noted  for  neatness,  and  though  a  beer  bottle  some- 
times broken,  was  found  to  be  half  full  of  slime  and  a  cat  could  be 
seen  sitting  on  a  pie  in  the  window,  some  folks  would  continue  to  go 
there  and  eat. 

Another  place,  not  so  notorious,  but  bad  enough,  was  up  town, 
opposite  the  present  Windsor  House.  It  was  here  on  a  fair  day  that 
two  men  tried  to  make  a  bet  on  the  number  of  hard  boiled  eggs  they 
could  eat,  but  were  refused  by  the  pro])rietor,  as  he  was  afraid  of 
death  of  one  or  both. 

Was  Hit  with  a  Beer  Glass. 

In  the  election  in  the  fall  of  1852,  when  B.  F.  Moore  was  the 
candidate  for  the  assembly  against  Jo.  Wagner,  of  Marshfield,  there 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  227 

was  much  anxiety  to  learn  the  result,  and  the  next  evening  when  it 
was  known  that  Mr.  Moore  was  surely  elected,  a  few  of  his  friends 
could  not  restrain  their  hilarity  and  went  out  on  a  tour  of  rejoicing. 
They  were  in  Chandler's  beer  and  pie  shop,  next  door  south  of  the 
Journal  office,  making  some  noise,  when  A.  T.  Glaze  stepped  from  the 
front  door  to  see  what  was  up.  His  face  had  but  just  reached  the 
seeing  point,  when  a  large  beer  glass  came  crashing  through  the 
window,  striking  him  on  the  chin,  knocking  him  down  and  filling  his 
neck  and  chin  with  fine  glass.  Dr.  Walker  happened  to  be  passing 
and  spent  an  hour  picking  out  the  glass,  but  all  of  the  little  fragments 
were  not  gone  in  six  months.  The  glass  was  thrown  by  the  young 
lawyer,  O.  B,  Tyler,  known  to  us  all  as  "Ben"  Tyler,  who  was  very 
much  ashamed  of  it  and  would  not  meet  Mr.  Glaze  face  to  face  after- 
ward— he  even  avoided  him  on  the  street.  He  was  full  of  booze 
when  he  threw  the  glass  and  did  not  know  what  he  was  doing.  He 
went  to  California  soon  after  and  was  drowned. 


Prominent  Men  of  Ripen. 

E.  P.  Brockway,  Capt;  D.  P.  Mapes,  G.  N.  Lyman,  William  Starr, 
Geo.  W.  Mitchell,  Almon  Osborn,  D.  Greenway,  D.  P.  Lyon,  W.  B. 
Kingsbury,  J.  Bowen,  C.  F.  Dodge.  G.  W.  Dellinger,  H.  S.  Town, 
Wm.  Taggart,  E.  Manville,  Col.  B.  Pinkney,  A.  E.  Bovay,  A.  M. 
Skeels,  C.  F.  Hammond,  Wm.  Workman,  W.  W.  Robinson,  H.  T. 
Henton  and  Byron  Kingsbury  were  all  prominent  citizens  of  Ripon 
at  one  time.  They  all  resided  there  in  the  sixties,  and  a  few  of  them 
are  still  living.  There  were  others  in  city  and  town.  Few  places  the 
same  size  have  produced  as  many  noted  men  as  Ripon  or  had  as  many 
residing  within  its  borders  at  one  time.  One  of  the  early  pioneers  of 
the  town  of  Ripon  was  Ezekiel  Babcock,  who  died  a  few  weeks  ago. 
He  was  twice  a  member  of  the  assembly  and  many  times  a  member 
of  the  county  board. 

George  McAVilliams,  one  of  the  original  stockholders  in  the  old 
Fond  du  Lac  Company,  became  a  resident  here  in  the  forties,  and  was 
still  here  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1866.  His  residence  stood  where 
the  malt  house  is  now,  and  the  entire  front  of  the  block  being  unob- 
structed by  buildings  and  the  lawn  well  kept,  it  was  a  very  pretty 
place.     He  was  a  bachelor  and  a  most  companionable  man. 

They  All  Sold  Liquor. 

All  of  the  early  day  hotels  in  Fond  du  Lac  had  bars  and  sold 
!iquOr,  and  Harry  Blythe,  Alex  Gillies  and  Harry  Jones  kept  whiskey 
shops.  The  only  saloons  after  the  style  of  the  present  were  Charley 
Johnson's,  Astor  Hall,  and  the  Meyer  and  Bischof  places.  The  pro- 
prietors of  drug  stores,  if  disposed  to  sell  liquor,  otherwise  than  for 
medical  purposes,  were  required  to  take  out  saloon  licenses.  Places 
where  liquor  was  sold  by  the  drink  were  not  as  numerous  as  now,  but 
a  man  could  get  drunk  without  much  trouble  anv  dav  of  the  week. 


228  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Very  Slow  Workmen. 

It  was  said  of  William  Mumby,  an  early  day  wagon  maker  on 
West  Second  street,  that  if  he  began  a  wagon  with  green  timber,  it 
would  be  thoroughly  seasoned  when  he  got  it  done. 

And  of  a  certain  marble  cutter  it  was  said  if  he  had  an  order  for 
a  tomb  stone  from  a  well  man,  he  could  go  on  with  date  of  death  by 
the  time  he  was  ready  for  it. 

And  as  Squire  McCarty  said  of  Dr.  Howard — a  patient  would 
have  time  to  die  and  get  to  heaven  by  the  time  Dr.  Howard  wou'ld 
get  to  his  bedside. 

It  is  not  very  easy  to  understand  why  some  people  are  so  slow. 
Some  mechanics  seem  to  work  busily  but  accomplish  little.  If  he 
does  not  waste  time,  he  surely  lacks  in  ingenuity.  Often  this  is 
natural  to  the  person,  but  is  most  likely  to  be  the  result  of  education 
of  the  hands,  for  hands  must  be  educated  as  well  as  brain.  Profes- 
sional men  are  too  often  afflicted  Avith  laziness  and  neglect. 

Early  Telegraph  Operator, 

Until  the  fall  of  1853,  the  only  telegraph  line  Fond  du  Lac  had, 
was  the  one  to  Sheboygan,  and  as  it  was  a  poorly  constructed  line  and 
much  of  the  way  went  through  timber,  where  trees  and  limbs-  fell  on 
it,  the  line  was  very  often  not  in  working  order.  Bill  Ellsworth  was 
the  operator  and  he  therefore  had  lots  of  time  to  fill  up  with  booze, 
which  he  often  did.  One  day  some  one  had  died  and  it  was  desired  to 
send  out  a  message,  but  where  was  Bill?  After  a  long  search,  he  was 
found  asleep  under  a  tree  over  where  Cherry  street  is  now.  He  came 
over  and  sent  the  message  all  right. 

Billy  Armstrong,  for  many  years  chief  of  the  telegraph  lines  of 
the  St.  Paul  railroad,  was  the  first  operator  in  Fond  du  Lac  to  take 
messages  by  sound.  Up  to  that  time  paper  was  generally  used  on  a 
recorder.  The  telegraph  office  was  in  the  Commonwealth  office  and 
as  boys  used  to  wonder  how  in  the  world  he  could  sit  in  the  editorial 
room  reading  newspapers  and  yet  read  every  word  that  passed  over 
the  machine  out  in  the  other  room.  He  did  not  have  a  modern  sounder 
so  he  put  an  oyster  can  on  the  machine  to  make  more  noise.  It  was 
a  long  time  before  all  the  old  telegraph  machines  went  out  of  use. 

Instructor  at  Gymnasium. 

Johnny  Reichert,  I  believe,  was  the  first  instructor  in  gymnastics 
of  the  Fond  du  Lac  Turners.  Johnny  was  very  industrious  and  it 
was  said  of  him  that  he  didn't  know  how  to  loaf.  Among  many  things 
he  did  at  odd  times  were  the  training  of  a  couple  of  doves  or  pigeons 
so  that  they  would  come  to  him  and  eat  from  his  hands.  These 
pigeons  were  the  admiration  of  all  who  saw  them.  Often  they  would 
follow  him  about  town  like  dogs,  only  higher  up  in  the  air.  He  had 
them  a  long  time  and  finally  when  one  of  them  did  not  return,  Johnny's 
mourning  lasted  far  beyond  the  usual  time. 

Croft  Would  Not  Pay  Dog  Tax. 

The  first  dogs  sacrificed  to  a  dog  tax  in  Fond  du  Lac,  were  the 
five  or  six  owned  by  Geo.  Croft,  father  of  the  well  known  Geo.  Croft, 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  229 

formerly  of  Oshkosh.  Croft  was  a  queer  Englishman  and  when  he 
appeared  on  the  streets  these  miserable  dogs  were  at  his  heels.  The 
city  passed  an  ordinance  taxing  dogs.  Croft  would  not  pay  the  tax 
and  the  city  marshal  killed  them.  The  whole  bunch  was  worth  maybe 
a  nickel  and  Croft  declared  that  he  could  sue  for  damages,  but  never 
did.  He  went  west  to  grow  up  with  the  country  and  where  he  could 
keep  all  the  dogs  he  liked. 

Channel  at  Lakeside  Park. 

.The  channel  leading  into  the  Lakeside  Park  had  its  original  con- 
ception in  the  brain  of  B.  F.  Moore,  in  1853,  at  the  time  he  lived  at 
the  northeast  corner  of  Main  and  Scott  streets,  and  owned  most  of 
the  steamboats  on  Lake  W^innebago.  The  boats  so  frequently  stuck 
on  the  sand  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  that  he  thought  it  important 
to  make  some  change.  So  he  proposed  to  make  a  channel  into  which 
the  boats  could  run  and  where  there  would  be  no  current  to  make  a 
sandbar.  A  dock  on  this  channel  would  be  the  landing  and  with  an 
improved  road  from  Main  street,  would  be  far  more  convenient  than 
the  old  landing.  But  in  a  year  or  two  Mr.  Moore  sold  all  his  boats 
to  Capt.  Fitzgerald,  of  Oshkosh,  and  of  course  the  channel  proposition 
was  abandoned  and  soon  filled  with  weeds.  No  dredges  were  obtain- 
able at  that  day  and  the  work  of  excavation  was  done  with  shovels 
and  scrapers.  Much  work  remained  to  be  done  to  render  the  proposed 
new  landing:  available  for  steamboats. 


A  New  Judicial  Circuit. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1905,  the  work  in  the  Fourth  Circuit 
had  become  so  heavy,  that  Fond  du  Lac  county  was  detached  and 
with  Green  Lake.  Marquette  and  Columbia,  was  made  the  Eighteenth 
Circuit.  Judge  Fowler,  of  Portage,  was  elected  judge  over  Messrs. 
Sutherland,  Griswold  and  Pedrick.  AMth  Judges  Taylor,  McLean  and 
Gilson  on  the  bench.  Fond  du  Lac  county  held  the  circuit  judgeship 
over  thirty-five  years,  and  perhaps  we  ought  not  to  complain  at  the 
loss  of  it.  Judge  Kirwan  retains  Sheboygan,  Manitowoc  and  Ke- 
waunee counties. 


Ripen  Convention  Men. 

At  the  local  political  conventions  of  the  earh'  days,  if  William 
Starr,  H.  S.  Town,  D.  C.  Lamb,  A.  E.  Bovay,  J.  Bowen,  E.  L.  Runals, 
Wm.  Workman,  Charley  Bennett,  J.  C.  Russell,  or  part  of  them, 
appeared  in  Fond  du  Lac  at  a  republican  convention,  or  Geo.  W. 
Mitchell,  Wm.  Taggart,  Ad.  Mapes,  D.  F.  Shepard,  Jerre  Dobbs,  E. 
Manville,  Dr.  Everhard  or  D.  Greenway  in  a  democratic  convention, 
it  could  be  surmised  that  Ripon  meant  business.  They  were  there  to 
do  work  for  the  party  and  for  the  men  they  had  decided  upon.  As  a 
rule  they  got  there  and  the  balance  of  their  conventions  knew  that 
was  what  thev  were  there  for. 


t 


230  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

An  Early  Day  Hashery. 

In  1849  ^"d  for  a  few  years  subsequent,  there  was  a  place  on 
Main  street  nearly  opposite  Forest  Avenue,  known  to  many  of  the 
working  boys  as  "Gillies'  Hashery."  At  the  place  indicated,  for  many 
years  a  well  known  Scotchman,  Alex.  Gillies,  had  a  liquor  store  and 
in  connection  therewith,  conducted  a  cheap  boarding  house,  where 
working  boys  could  get  meals  for  eighteen  cents  a  day  or  six  cents 
each,  and  they  were  good  for  the  price.  When  the  "Gillies'  Hashery" 
disappeared  from  Main  street  it  was  moved  back  to  Portland  street, 
where  it  remained  as  a  liquor  store  until  about  1898.  Gillies  always 
had  the  credit  of  keeping  an  orderly  place.  Unlike  Harry  Jones  and 
some  others  of  the  old  timers.  Gillies  never  had  loafers  and  never 
any  fights.  It  was  his  delight  to  get  a  few  cronies  about  him,  and 
crossing  their  legs  under  the  table,  tell  stories.  His  place  was  one 
of  the  old  fashioned  quiet  Scotch  resorts.  We  have  no  such  places 
now. 


First  Appearance  of  Bicycles. 

The  first  bicycles  then  generally  known  as  velocipedes,  to  appear 
in  this  county,  was  at  Ripon  in  1873.  Dr.  Hubbard,  of  that  city,  had 
been  in  Boston  and  places  in  New  England,  where  he  saw  some,  and 
while  in  New  York  city  on  his  way  home,  watched  for  and  saw 
Charles  A.  Dana,  of  the  New  York  Sun,  ride  one  several  times. 
Being  a  fair  mechanic  as  well  as  a  hydropathic  doctor,  on  his  arrival 
home  at  Ripon,  went  to  work  and  made  two  velocipedes  which  he 
rode  about  town  and  taught  some  of  the  young  men  to  ride.  He  had 
a  school  for  practice  in  Greenway  Hall,  and  among  his  pupils  were 
ex-Gov.  Geo.  W.  Peck,  ex-Sheriff  H.  R.  Hill,  John  Hill,  A.  W.  Petti- 
bone  and  others,  and  a  high  time  they  had  of  it.  The  machines  used 
were  very  crude  home  made  things,  but  they  served  their  purpose. 
Very  few  had  yet  appeared  elsewhere  in  the  state.  In  a  year  or  two 
after  this  the  high  wheel  machines  appeared,  and  about  1892  the 
present  two  wheel  machines  came  under  the  name  "safeties."  ex-Gov. 
Peck  could  tell  some  amusing  stories  about  the  first  bicycles  in  this 
county. 


Early  Building  by  Bonesteel. 

The  elTort  of  A.  D.  Bonesteel  at  home  building  when  he  erected 
the  house  on  the  south  side  of  West  Division  street,  opposite  Doty 
street,  was  laughed  at.  Cherry  street  as  a  street,  was  almost  un- 
known, and  the  region  of  Cherry,  part  of  the  south  side  of  West 
Division  and  part  of  the  north  side  of  Forest,  were  largely  woods. 
The  house  stood  in  the  woods.  A  large  republican  meeting  was  held 
in  the  woods  there,  at  which  Lieut.  Governor  Butler  G.  Noble  spoke, 
after  this  house  was  built.  After  Mr.  Bonesteel  left  Fond  du  Lac,  he 
was  thought  to  be  very  fortunate  in  being  able  to  sell  the  property 
to  Mr.  Fredericks.     In  after  years  the  people  thought  better  of  it. 


EXPERIENCES  IN  PIONEER  DAYS 


A  Paper  Read  Before  the  Old  Settlers'  Club,  at  Its  Picnic  Meeting 

on  the  Fair  Grounds,  September  2,  1904. 

By  Miss  Alice  Stearns. 


One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  reunion  held  by  the 
Fond  du  Lac  County  Old  Settlers'  at  the  fair  grounds  Friday, 
September  2,  was  a  paper  by  Miss  Alice  Stearns,  of  the  town  of 
Springvale,  on  incidents  connected  with  pioneer  life  in  this  county. 
It  will  be  read  with  interest  by  the  people  throughout  the  county. 
The  paper  follows : 

"We  love  and  reverence  the  pioneers  as  we  \o\e  and  reverence 
all  good  men  and  women  for  what  they  have  been  and  for  what  they 
have  done.  It  is  well  for  us  who  live  in  times  of  luxuries  and  con- 
veniences, made  possible  by  the  toil,  thought,  courage  and  heroism 
of  the  early  settlers,  to  turn  aside  from  the  engrossing  pursuits  of 
today  and  dwell  upon  the  virtues  and  deeds  of  those  who  have  formed 
from  the  wilderness  and  primeval  soil,  the  county  of  which  we  are 
so  justly  proud. 

Dr.  Miller's  Arrival  in  the  State. 

"Many  amusing  and  pathetic  incidents  are  related  of  the  ways 
and  means  of  transportation  in  the  early  days  of  this  state.  Rev.  Dr. 
Miller,  of  Methodist  fame,  who  landed  at  Racine  in  June,  1844,  says: 
'The  Madison,  a  crazy  old  steamer  that  could  lay  on  more  sides  during 
a  storm  than  any  other  water  craft  that  I  have  ever  seen,  landed  us  on 
a  pier  in  the  night,  and  thence  we  reached  the  shore  in  a  scow.  At 
Racine  we  engaged  a  man  to  take  us.  six  in  all,  with  our  trunks,  to 
Delavan.  The  roads  were  almost  impassable.  The  rains  had  fallen 
so  copiously  that  the  streams  overflowed  their  banks,  the  marshes 
were  full  and  the  prairies  inundated.  We  made  an  average  of  fifteen 
miles  a  day.  Our  vehicles  stuck  fast  eighteen  times  between  Racine 
and  Delavan.  Sometimes  we  found  these  interesting  events  would 
occur  in  the  middle  of  a  broad  marsh.  In  such  cases  the  gentlemen 
would  take  to  the  water,  sometimes  up  to  the  loins,  build  a  chair  by 
the  crossing  of  hands  and  give  the  ladies  safe  passage  to  the  prairie 
beyond.  To  make  the  chair  and  wade  ashore  with  its  precious  burden, 
involved  a  very  nice  adjustment  of  balances.  If  the  three  went  head- 
long before  they  reached  the  shore,  each  received  a  generous  coat  of 
mail.' 

A  Milwaukee  Road  Experience. 

"The  following  is  the  experience  of  our  worthy  secretary,  A.  T. 
Glaze,  in  reaching  Fond  du  Lac  from  Milwaukee,  August  24,  1850. 
Accompanying  his  uncle  and  aunt,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edward  Beeson, 
then  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Fond  du   Lac  Journal,  he  left  the 


232  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

American  House.  Milwaukee,  at  4  o'clock  in  the  morning,  after  pay- 
ment of  $3.50  each,  in  Indiana  uncertainty,  believed  by  some  to  be 
money.  The  stage  company  agreed  to  land  them  at  Fond  du  Lac 
with  certainty  and  reasonable  speed.  The  arrival  at  Menomonee 
Falls  at  9  o'clock  brought  them  to  a  glorious  ham  and  eggs  breakfast 
at  Bancroft's,  at  3  in  the  afternoon  to  dinner  at  Hall's  'half  way 
house,'  10  o'clock  to  Theresa,  and  as  the  party  walked  into  the  old 
Beeson  home  on  Third  street,  where  Guse's  wagon  shop  now  stands, 
the  hands  of  the  clock  pointed  to  exactly  3  130  in  the  morning.  Please 
reflect  that  most  people  who  now  cover  the  distance  by  public  con- 
veyance, grumble  grievously  if  the  time  limit  exceeds  two  hours  by 
a  single  minute,  but  in  this  case  it  was  just  a  half  hour  less  than 
twenty-four  hours  and  it  was  by  no  means  a  long  trip  at  that  time. 
The  early  boyhood  days  of  Mr.  Glaze  were  spent  in  Ohio  with  his 
grand  parents,  on  the  edge  of  the  notorious  'black  swamp.'  He 
crossed  that  famous  bog  many  times,  but  never  did  he  see  a  more 
interminable  labyrinth  of  mud  holes,  water,  bogs  and  brush  than  they 
ran  into  in  the  Rock  River  woods,  between  Hall's  and  Theresa.  With 
as  experienced  a  driver  as  the  well  known  'Long  Sam'  while  endeav- 
oring to  avoid  a  bad  looking  mud  hole,  the  leaders  of  the  four-horse 
team  jumped  a  brush  fence  and  a  bad  upset  was  the  result. 

Trip  of  the  Kazan  Family. 

"In  1844,  a  company  of  twenty-four  from  New  York  state,  among 
whom  were  the  Hazen  brothers  of  the  famous  martial  band  of  Spring- 
vale,  landed  at  Milwaukee  in  June.  A  team  of  three  pairs  of  oxen 
was  purchased,  wagon  decked,  boxes  and  trunks  loaded,  when  it  was 
found  that  but  three  could  ride.  1  nere  were  eight  women  in  the 
company.  Did  they  wait  for  a  parlor  car?  No,  indeed.  They  un- 
complainingly took  turns  in  walking.  They  left  Milwaukee  Monday 
morning  and  Saturday  night  found  them  within  three  miles  of  what 
is  now  Oakfield,  the  wagon  stuck  in  the  mud  and  the  oxen  too  tired  to 
travel  further.  One  of  the  men  remained  with  the  team  and  the 
others  bravely  resumed  their  journey.  Every  rod  seemed  a  mile  to 
the  weary,  foot-sore  company.  After  what  seemed  to  be  hours,  the 
log  cabin  of  Lorenzo  Hazen  came  in  sight  and  the  company  were 
gladly  received.  Too  tired  for  supper,  they  took  boots,  bundles  of 
clothing,  foot  rests,  anything  they  could  lay  hands  on  for  pillows, 
and  with  puncheon  floor  for  feather  beds,  were  soon  oblivious  to 
their  surroundings.  Three  of  the  Hazen  brothers  were  soon  keeping 
house  in  single  room  shanties  with  puncheon  floors  and  troughed 
roofs,  which  had  the  faculty  of  letting  most  of  the  rain  find  its  way 
to  the  room  beneath.  Their  furniture  was  home  made  and  the  good 
housewives  did  all  their  work  for  one  summer  out  of  doors  by  camp 
fires.  Their  bread  was  baked  in  a  kettle.  As  the  summer  of  1844  was 
very  rainy,  such  outdoor  work  was  no  light  task.  For  this  story  and 
many  other  facts,  I  am  indebted  to  Mrs.  Sanford  Hazen,  of  Ripon, 
lovingly  known  as  'Aunt  Susan.'  Her  courage,  her  bright  and  cheery 
manner  of  today  tell  us  she  was  the  life  of  this  little  company.     The 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  233 

mud  must  not  have  seemed  so  deep,  the  bogs  less  numerous,  the  hills 
not  so  high  or  steep  by  the  sunshine  and  cheerfulness  of  her  presence. 

A  Shopping  Party's  Trials, 

"In  1852.  Mr.  Wedge  took  a  party  of  young  people  to  Fond  du 
Lac  for  shopping.  It  was  dark  when  they  started  for  home.  About 
a  mile  from  town  the  heavy  wagon  stuck,  the  horses  gave  a  quick 
jump  and  the  result  was  a  broken  whippletree. 

"This  was  rather  a  dark  outlook  for  a  party  sixteen  miles  from 
home.  The  girls  were  carried  to  high  ground,  a  lantern  procured  and 
the  whippletree  spliced,  but  the  party  had  had  enough  mud  ride  for 
one  night  and  remained  at  the  Two  Mile  House  until  morning.  In 
early  times  Fond  du  Lac  and  vicinity  was  truly  a  veritable  mud  hole. 
A  joke  was  perpetrated  at  the  Lewis  House  one  morning,  when  the 
guests  were  horrified  at  seeing  the  toes  of  a  pair  of  boots  sticking  out 
of  the  mud  and  Col.  Ewen  was  appealed  to  without  result,  but  later 
on  'ye  hostler'  admitted  that  in  a  spirit  of  mischief,  he  had  placed 
them  there. 

Riding  Behind  the  Oxen. 

"In  the  early  days  teaming,  pleasure  driving,  racing  and  farm 
work  were  mainly  done  with  oxen,  and  they  were  not  to  be  despised 
either.  On  July  4,  1851,  while  many  were  returning  from  the  cele- 
bration at  Ripon,  an  ox  team  appeared  on  the  scene  and  ran  by  every 
team  but  one.  Those  who  knew  my  father  in  those  days,  well  know 
he  had  a  good  team  and  headed  the  line.  For  miles  he  had  to  be  on 
the  alert  to  be  sure  that  the  oxen  did  not  pass  him. 

"When  Elder  LeFever  came  to  Rosendale,  the  family  were  invited 
to  dinner  at  the  home  of  Senator  Bertine  Pinkney.  Mrs.  LeFever 
was  shocked  at  the  idea  of  riding  after  oxen  on  her  way  to  a  senator's 
home  to  dine,  but  when  once  started  she  saw  the  amusing  side  and 
had  a  merry  ride.  They  were  received  with  all  the  courtesy  due  a 
coach  and  four.  When  Elder  LeFever  was  a  young  circuit  rider,  near 
New  York  city,  he  was  overtaken  by  a  severe  rain  storm.  Two 
young  ladies  were  also  overtaken  by  the  rain  and  circuit  rider.  He 
bowed  to  the  strangers  who  decorously  returned  the  courtesy,  and 
one  quaintly  remarked:  'Don't  you  think  it  looks  like  rain?'  To 
make  a  long  story  short,  she  afterwards  became  Mrs.   LeFever. 

Some  Kitchen  Experiences. 
"The  resourcefulness  of  the  pioneer  often  proved  true  the  saying 
that  'necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention.'  During  the  first  year  of 
Mrs.  H.  D.  Hitt's  life  in  Wisconsin,  she  gathered  some  wild  goose- 
berries on  the  ledge,  and  having  flour  and  lard,  decided  to  have  a  pie. 
No  rolling  pin  was  forthcoming,  but  pie  she  would  have.  In  the 
emergency,  her  eyes  rested  on  the  camphor  bottle.  Eureka  !  Pie  she 
did  have,  the  crust  rolled  out  with  a  camphor  bottle.  This  was  too 
much  for  Mr.  Hitt,  and  with  fire  in  his  eye  he  started  for  the  wood 
pile.  Selecting  a  fine  stick  of  butternut  of  the  proper  size,  he  soon 
had  a  rolling  pin  which  still  remains  in  use  in  the  family.  I  will 
pledge  my  word  that  it  has  rolled  out  crust  for  more  good  pies  than 
any  other  family  rolling  pin  in  the  county. 


23i  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


"July  4,  1852,  mother  thought  she  would  have  a  pie  for  dinner, 
and  going  to  the  garden  gathered  all  the  currants  and  all  the  goose- 
berries, and  yet  they  were  not  enough  for  the  pie.  But  pie  she  must 
and  would  have,  so  she  gathered  rose  leaves,  which  added  to  the  fruit, 
made  the  best  pie  we  ever  ate.  As  a  substitute  for  apples  for  pies 
in  the  early  times,  the  housewife  sometimes  boiled  pumpkins  in 
vinegar  and  sliced  them  for  pies.  Pumpkin  molasses  was  also  made 
by  many  in  the  emergenc}^  for  table  supplies. 

"At  the  first  banquet  held  at  Ripon  College,  Mrs.  Tracy,  the 
dear  mother  of  the  college,  wished  to  hear  the  address,  which  was 
given  at  Pedrick's  hall  at  4  p.  m.  As  she  was  matron  she  had  to 
superintend  serving  the  collation,  as  it  was  then  called.  She  cut  the 
cakes,  put  the  cream  into  the  twenty  pitchers,  locked  all  in  the  cup- 
board and  hied  away  to  the  hall.  After  the  address,  she  rushed  back 
to  serve,  when,  alas!  the  cream  was  sour.  Filled  with  inventive 
genius,  she  sent  one  student  to  milk  the  college  cow,  which  was  then 
pastured  on  the  campus,  another  to  milk  the  cow  owned  by  President 
Merryman  and  another  to  milk  the  cow  owned  by  Mr.  Mason.  They 
certainly  had  plenty  of  fresh  milk  for  cofTee. 

Wisconsin  Phalanx  and  the  Mail. 

"Madam  N.  Hunter,  of  Ripon,  the  only  living  member  of  the 
Wisconsin  Phalanx,  is  very  interesting  in  reminiscences  of  pioneer 
life.  She  furnished  the  first  mail  sack  in  which  the  first  mail  was 
carried  between  Ceresco,  now  Ripon,  and  Fond  du  Lac.  It  was  a 
pillow  case  and  the  lock  was  a  tow  string.  The  carrier  did  not  have 
even  a  blazed  trail  to  follow,  but  used  a  compass  as  a  guide. 

The  Privation  of  Mills. 

"It  was  difficult  for  early  settlers  to  obtain  flour.  They  sometimes 
had  to  team  sixty  to  ninety  miles  and  the  trip  required  from  two  to 
four  weeks.  Joseph  Fairbanks,  who  was  county  surveyor  in  early 
times,  and  of  whom  the  people  of  Waupun  always  speak  as  Uncle 
Joe,  on  one  of  these  milling  trips  was  detained  longer  than  he  ex- 
pected, and  the  supplies  at  home  were  running  low.  Finally  Aunt 
Hannah  used  the  last  of  her  meal  for  a  small  Johnny  cake,  which  she 
baked  in  a  quart  basin.  Just  as  it  was  cool  enough  to  eat,  her  sister- 
in-law  came  to  see  if  she  had  any  food  to  spare.  She  said  her  children 
were  crying  with  hunger  and  she  had  not  a  morsel  to  give  them. 
Aunt  Hannah  broke  the  cake  in  tAvo  parts,  giving  her  the  larger  piece. 
Then  she  divided  the  remainder  between  her  two  little  boys  and  sat 
down  to  cr}^  utterly  discouraged.  At  midnight  Uncle  Joe  returned 
and  she  did  not  wait  until  morning  for  the  cooking  of  a  meal  which 
was  to  her  breakfast,  dinner  and  supper.  On  the  trip  Uncle  Joe  stayed 
one  night  with  a  pioneer  family.  The  hospitable  settler  gladly  made 
a  bed  on  the  floor  for  the  children  and  Uncle  Jo  took  the  one  vacated. 
He  was  congratulating  himself  on.  his  good  fortune,  when  right  by 
his  head  a  bell  rang.  The  settler  had  tied  his  cow  to  that  corner  of 
the  cabin  and  every  time  she  moved  the  bell  tinkled.  About  11  o'clock 
the   old   chanticleer,   roosting  on   top   of   the   cabin,   proclaimed   that 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  235 

morning  was  coming,  and  continued  to  proclaim   until   morning  did 
come.     There  was  not  much  sleep  for  Uncle  Joe  that  night. 

The  Rich  and  the  Poor. 

"George  Russell,  of  Brandon,  used  to  enjoy  telling  this  story. 
When  they  first  came  to  Brandon  they  were  very  poor,  having  just 
money  enough  to  pay  for  oxen  and  wagon  with  which  they  made  their 
wedding  trip.  Their  house  was  a  pole  shantv  without  a  floor.  ]\Irs. 
Russell,  faithful  helpmeet  that  she  was,  drove  the  team  and  he  held 
the  plow  in  the  farm  work.  One  day  they  heard  of  a  rich  settler  who 
had  come  into  the  town.  He  was  so  rich  that  he  had  paid  the  govern- 
ment price  for  his  land  and  also  had  a  seventy-five  cent  cofifee  mill. 
Now,  Miranda,  said  Mr.  Russell,  you  must  make  their  acquaintance, 
and  in  doing  so  you  must  take  along  a  pan  of  wheat  and  see.  if  they 
will  let  you  grind  it.  Miranda  walked  the  three  miles,  ground  the 
wheat  and  returned  home  in  time  to  make  a  shortcake  for  supper, 
which  they  thoroughly  enjoyed. 

''Wild  game  was  plentiful,  but  as  a  general  diet,  the  people  soon 
tired  of  it.  In  some  localities  pork  was  a  luxury.  Mrs.  J.  Amadon. 
of  Waupun,  invited  her  sister  and  family  to  spend  Thanksgiving 
with  her,  and  as  a  special  inducement  said  to  her:  "We  will  have  hot 
biscuit  and  the  best  milk  gravy  I  know  how  to  make.' 

The  Settlers  and  the  Indians. 

"As  we  read  the  history  of  the  Pier  and  Wilkinson  families,  first 
settlers  in  the  towns  of  Fond  du  Lac  and  Oakfield,  we  can  but  wonder 
at  the  heroism  and  fortitude  of  the  early  settlers.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Russell  \'Vilkinson  were  the  first  settlers  in  Oakfield,  their  nearest 
neighbor  being  Edward  Pier,  of  Fond  du  Lac.  Crude  log  cabins, 
howling  wolves  at  night,  Indians  constantly  passing,  peeking  in  at  the 
windows  or  boldly  walking  into  the  house,  and  women  of  the  family 
often  left  alone  for  days  at  a  time,  these  were  a  few  of  the  things  it 
required  courage  to  endure.  ]\Ir.  Pier  knew  of  their  unprotected  lives 
and  always  watched  the  Indians  as  they  passed  his  place,  to  see  if 
they  had  indulged  in  fire  water.  If  such  was  the  case,  he  sent  a  man 
to  protect  them.  Once  when  Mrs.  Wilkinson  was  alone  she  saw  some 
drunken  Indians  coming.  She  quickly  barricaded  the  door  and 
windows,  then  waited  in  terror  for  them  to  fire  the  cabin.  They  were 
on  the  roof,  pounding  on  the  door,  howling  and  yelling.  Suddenly 
it  became  quiet  and  she  heard  the  bark  of  a  dog.  Then  she  heard  a 
white  man's  rap  on  the  door  which  she  opened  to  find  that  Mr.  Pier 
had  sent  a  man  to  her  assistance.  History  tells  us  that  the  Indians 
afterwards  did  burn  the  cabin  while  the  family  were  at  Mr.  Pier's 
home.  Two  other  settlers  came  into  the  town  and  an  agreement  was 
entered  into  that  if  the  Indians  attacked  them,  the  firing  of  a  gun  was 
to  be  the  signal  for  all  to  meet  at  the  Botsford  cabin.  One  night 
Messrs.  Botsford  and  Bierne  thought  it  would  be  a  good  joke  to 
scare  the  Wilkinsons,  and  fired  the  signal  gun.  The  women  jumped 
from  their  beds,  grabbed  their  infants  and  in  their  night  clothes  made 
speed  for  the  fort,  only  to  find  that  the  rumpus  was  the  result  of  a 


236  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

frolic.  It  is  due  the  Indians  to  say  that  they  were  troublesome  but 
not  dangerous,  unless  they  had  taken  an  undue  quantity  of  the  white 
man's  fire  water,  the  same  fire  water  that  is  still  a  disgrace  to  our 
country,  ^^'e  are  glad  to  be  able  to  say  that  public  sentiment  is 
stronger  against  the  liquor  traffic  today  than  it  was  in  1850.  May 
1950  see  ever}^  saloon,  club  house,  every  place  where  liquor  is  licensed 
to  be  sold,  driven  from  our  country  by  the  irresistable  force  of  public 
sentiment. 

"Mrs.  Lyman  Bishop  tells  how  her  sister  outwitted  the  Indians. 
Mrs.  Bannister  had  just  made  some  fried  cakes  when  a  squaw  came 
in  but  did  not  stay.  Mrs.  Bannister  knew,  however,  that  she  would 
soon  return  with  others.  Under  her  log  house  was  a  place  for  tubs 
which  were  put  through  a  trap  door  in  the  floor.  She  quickly  put  the 
pan  of  cakes  through  this  door  and  covered  them  with  a  tub.  Six 
Indians  soon  arrived,  as  expected,  and  looking  through  cupboards 
and  places  where  they  thought  they  might  be  stored,  failed  to  find  the 
cakes.  Mrs.  Bishop  was  very  much  frightened  and  started  for  help. 
She  fortunately  met  a  teamster  who  soon  put  the  Indians  to  flight. 

"Three  hundred  Menomonee  Indians  at  one  time  camped  on  the 
farm  of  Thomas  Boyd,  in  the  town  of  Calumet.  Adam  Boyd,  of 
W'aupun,  well  remembers  playing  with  the  Indian  children.  One  day 
as  he  entered  the  camping  ground  he  noticed  that  the  Indians  were 
very  much  excited.  Then  a  squaw  took  him  into  a  wigwam  and  cov- 
ered him  with  robes  and  blankets,  told  him  not  to  move  or  speak. 
After  what  seemed  to  him  hours,  she  uncovered  him  and  told  him  to 
go.  The  Indians  had  been  drinking  and  the  squaw  knew  there  was 
danger. 

An  Editor  Lost  in  a  Hen's  Nest. 

"In  1847  Edward  Beeson  owned  a  farm  in  the  town  of  Fond  du 
Lac,  in  the  Arthur  and  Crofoot  neighborhood,  and  lived  there  with  his 
family.  The  comparatively  innocent  Menomonee  Indians  were 
numerous  in  the  neighborhood  and  there  were  also  some  of  the  danger- 
ous Winnebagoes,  always  in  mischief.  One  morning  early  Mr. 
Beeson  left  home  for  Taycheedah  to  have  a  grist  ground,  leaving  at 
home  Mrs.  Beeson  and  her  then  little  son,  John  J.,  in  after  years  the 
founder  and  editor  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  Reports.  Early  in  the  fore- 
noon Johnny  was  missing.  He  was  searched  for  all  over  the  place 
but  could  not  be  found.  Mrs.  Beeson  was  alarmed,  fearing  he  had 
been  stolen  by  the  Indians,  and  promptly  sought  the  assistance  of 
such  of  the  neighbors  as  could  be  reached.  While  the  search  among 
the  Indians  was  in  active  progress,  Johnny  crawled  from  a  straw  bed 
behind  a  board  Mrs.  Beeson  had  placed  against  a  tree  for  a  hen's  nest. 

Sickness  and  Death  Came  Also. 

"Mrs.  Lingenfelter,  of  Brandon,  told  me  that  in  1852,  one  hot 
summer  day,  she  was  resting  on  her  bed,  when  whack !  came  some- 
thing which  struck  her  on  the  shoulder.  She  very  soon  found  it  to  be 
a  large  snake  that  had  fallen  from  the  upper  logs  of  the  house.  Priva- 
tion, sorrow,  loneliness,  sickness  and  death  were  linked  in  the  chain 
that  bound  these  settlers  very  closely  together. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  237 

"In  1846,  William  Galland,  with  his  wife  and  family  of  six  chil- 
dren, located  in  Lamartine.  All  looked  bright  to  the  family  until  the 
parents  were  stricken  with  typhoid  fever.  The  care  of  the  sick  ones 
and  the  children  fell  upon  the  eight  year  old  daughter.  A\'ith  the  best 
she  could  have  done  the  sick  ones  must  have  died,  had  not  Mr.  Storey, 
a  new  settler,  taken  them  to  his  own  home  to  care  for  them.  Mrs. 
Lyman  Bishop,  who  came  to  Fond  du  Lac  in  1845,  ^^^  made  her 
home  with  Isaac  Brown,  gives  an  account  of  sickness  in  the  families 
of  two  brothers  by  the  name  of  Wright.  They  lived  in  quickly  con- 
structed shanties  and  three  were  stricken  in  one  family  and  two  in 
another.  Mrs.  Col.  Tryon  gave  vip  her  home  to  one  family.  Mrs. 
Bishop  did  sewing  during  the  day  and  watched  nights.  When  it 
rained  the  watchers  held  umbrellas  over  the  sick,  and  put  pans  and 
plates  on  the  beds  to  catch  the  water  as  it  fell.  Four  of  the  five  died, 
strangers  in  a  strange  land.  ]\Irs.  Bishop  had  the  fever  herself,  but 
grit  pulled  her  through  and  she  still  lives  in  her  home  on  Third 
street,  a  hale  and  hearty  old  lady  of  about  eighty  years  of  age.  Coffins 
for  burial  of  the  dead  were  home  made.  Many  still  remember  the 
loving  services  of  Elder  Vaughn  in  times  of  bereavement.  He  not 
only  made  coffins  for  the  loved  ones  who  had  passed  away,  but 
preached  the  funeral  sermons  and  gave  consolation  to  the  surviving 
friends. 

Education  Not  Neglected. 

"Grateful  ought  we  of  this  later  generation,  to  be  for  the  atten- 
tion given  by  the  early  settlers  to  education.  Primitive  indeed,  were 
the  buildings,  but  the  teachers  were  generally  from  good  eastern 
schools.  One  student  from  an  eastern  college  thought  it  belittled  him 
to  be  examined  by  a  town  board,  but  in  order  to  teach  had  to  comply 
with  the  law.  Elder  Brown,  of  Springvale,  conducted  the  examina- 
tion. They  got  along  nicely  until  they  came  to  algebra.  A  question 
was  asked  and  the  student  replied :  T  think  you  would  not  understand 
if  I  should  explain  it  to  you.'  This  was  too  much  for  the  good  elder, 
and  question  followed  question  until  the  young  man  did  not  know 
where  he  was  at.  Finally  the  elder  told  him  he  would  give  him  a 
permit  to  teach  if  he  would  brush  up  on  algebra.  The  primitive  school 
buildings  were  also  used  for  church  services  by  the  settlers  who  came 
sometimes  many  miles  in  the  conveyances  used  at  that  time.  Divine 
services  were  always  well  attended.  One  Sunday  the  school  house 
at  Rock  River  would  not  hold  the  people.  They  stationed  them- 
selves at  the  doors  and  windows,  when  a  little  girl  was  heard  to 
remark :  'Oh.  mamma,  just  see  how  full  the  school  house  is  on  the 
outside.' 

Primitive  Vehicles. 

"Before  our  honored  president  had  a  box  for  his  wagon,  he  had 
what  they  called'  a  buckboard  with  a  chain  underneath  for  a  footrest. 
As  he  was  returning  from  church  with  Mrs.  Hitt,  who  was  holding 
a  child  in  her  arms,  the  board  caught  an  obstruction  and  tipped, 
nearly  throwing  them  to  the  ground ;  but  Mr.  Hitt  did  not  intend 
leaving  his  wife  in  that  fashion  and  seized  her  with  one  hand  and 


238  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU   LAC 

held  the  mettlesome  colts  with  the  other  until  the  vehicle  righted 
itself.  Alas!  her  wedding  dress  had  been  caught  by  the  chain  and 
completely  ruined. 

United  States  Senator  Howe, 

"United  States  senator  and  afterwards  cabinet  minister,  T.  O. 
Howe,  was  in  his  time  one  of  Wisconsin's  ablest  and  most  popular 
men.  In  1850  he  was  circuit  judge  and  Fond  du  Lac  county  was  in 
his  circuit.  While  upon  the  bench  he  was  noted  for  three  things, 
knowledge  of  the  law,  clearness  in  his  charges  to  juries  and  determin- 
ation in  maintaining  the  dignity  of  the  court. 

■'The  Fond  du  Lac  county  bar  at  this  time  consisted  of  Judge 
A.  W.  Stow,  Judge  C.  M.  Tompkins,  J.  M.  Gillett,  Robert  Flint,  C.  A. 
Eldredge,  Edward  S.  Bragg,  D.  E.  W'ood,  F.  H.  Waite,  John  C, 
Truesdell,  O.  B.  Tyler,  W.  H.  Ebbets,  L  S.  Tallmadge,  James  Cole- 
man, E,  W.  Drury,  W.  C.  Dodge,  A.  W.  Paine,  Carson  Graham,  Jared 
Chapel,  Amos  Reed,  Campbell  McLean,  E.  Hodges,  J.  A.  Eastman, 
M.  C.  Eaton,  C.  F.  Davis,  Samuel  W.  Beall,  total  twenty-five.  With 
a  population  then  of  less  than  2,000,  now  nearly  20,000,  the  difference 
is  but  about  a  half  dozen.  Ripon  had  Judge  Seely,  E.  L.  Runals, 
Jerre  Dobbs,  A.  B.  Hamilton  and  John  S.  Horner.  Waupun  had 
Eli  Hooker,  and  the  then  noted  litigant,  Rufus  P.  Eaton  could  be 
found  at  Pipe  Village,  town  of  Calumet.  Alas !  of  these  thirty-two 
lawyers  constituting  the  bar  of  Fond  du  Lac  county,  but  two,  Edward 
S.  Bragg  and  Jerre  Dobbs,  remain  here  to  recall  legal  events  of  the 
past,  all  the  rest  have  passed  on  to  the  other  shore. 

Calves  in  Court. 

"A  somewhat  noted  case  found  its  way  to  the  calendar  of  Judge 
Taylor's  court,  and  it  must  have  been  an  important  one,  requiring  as 
it  did,  the  talent  of  three  lawyers  on  one  side  and  two  on  the  other, 
and  involving  the  value  of  a  two  months'  old  calf.  The  frequent 
disputes  of  the  lawyers  and  their  earnestness  about  points  of  law 
that  the  judge  thought  to  be  trifling,  aroused  his  anger  and  he  sug- 
gested that  possibly  there  might  be  present  in  court  other  calves 
than  the  one  mentioned  in  the  pleadings.  This  caused  an  audible 
smile,  but  a  reply  from  the  bar  came  that  such  might  be  the  case,  but 
there  was  not  far  away  another  domestic  animal  whose  voice  is  not 
as  musical  but  sometimes  conveyed  as  much  wisdom  and  wit  as  people 
more  gifted  and  more  pretentious.  The  laugh  w-as  long  and  loud  and 
no  one  dared  to  show  wrath. 

"While  we  have  dwelt  upon  so  much  of  interest  to  us  all,  both  old 
and  young,  we  of  the  later  generation  rejoice  to  look  into  the  faces  of 
so  many  of  you  to  whom  belongs  the  name  of  'old  settler,'  a  name 
which,  if  w^orthily  borne,  is  honorable  indeed.  May  you  long  remain 
wath  us  to  gladden  our  hearts  and  see  many  returns  of  this  happy 
day.  With  hearts  full  of  grateful  appreciation  and  afifection,  we  say 
to  each  and  all  of  you,  in  the  beautiful  words  of  Holy  Writ,  'The 
Lord  bless  and  keep  you.  The  Lord  make  his  face  to  shine  upon  you 
and  be  gracious  unto  you.  The  Lord  life  up  the  light  of  his  counte- 
nance upon  you  and  give  you  peace.'  " 


TO  AND  FROM  OAKFIELD 


As  a  Member  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  First  National  Bank; 

of  Fond  du  Lac,  Hon.  H.  D.  Hitt  Did  Not  Miss  a 

Monthly  Meeting  in  Fifty  Years. 


H.  D.  Hitt,  of  Oakfield,  has  a  record  of  fifty  years  a  director  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  this  city  without  a  break,  during  which 
time  he  has  attended  every  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders.  He 
was  present  at  the  meeting  of  the  stockholders  last  March,  though 
he  had  been  in  poor  health  three  months,  and  could  not 
have  summoned  courage  to  leave  his  home  under  similar  weather 
conditions  for  any  other  purpose.  Never  having  had  a  break  in  his 
record  up  to  this  time,  he  said  that  it  was  too  late  to  begin  and  so  he 
came  forth  with  the  thermometer  nineteen  degrees  below  zero  when 
he  set  out  for  the  city  to  attend  the  meeting. 

For  many  years  when  the  board  of  directors  of  the  bank  consisted 
of  but  five  members,  Mr.  Hitt  attended  every  meeting,  as  it  was 
difificult  at  times  to  get  a  quorum,  but  of  late  years,  the  board  having 
been  increased  to  nine  members,  there  has  been  no  such  necessity 
and  he  has  passed  some  of  the  weekly  meetings.  Mr.  Hitt  was  re- 
elected second  vice-president  of  the  bank  at  the  meeting  of  the 
directors. 

When  the  old  Bank  of  the  Northwest,  the  father  of  the  First 
National  Bank,  was  organized  fifty  years  ago,  Mr.  Hitt  was  too  late 
in  making  his  application  for  a  block  of  the  stock  which  he  wanted 
very  much.  He  and  Edward  Pier,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  bank, 
were  firm  friends  and  through  their  friendship  Mr.  Hitt's  insistence 
was  soon  rewarded  by  an  opportunity  being  provided  for  him  to 
purchase  a  block  of  the  stock  amounting  to  $i,ooo.  This  original 
block  of  stock  he  has  always  retained  and  in  later  years  he  had  added 
considerably  to  his  holdings. 

Mr.  Hitt  is  82  years  old  and  he  has  resided  in  Oakfield  since  1848, 
or  fifty-seven  years.  He  has  alwa3's  been  prominent  in  local  affairs 
and  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  in  1858.  He  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  Old  Settlers'  Club  of  Fond  du  Lac  county  when  it  was 
organized  in  1904. 


An  Oil  Mill  Once  Here. 

In  the  early  days  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Gen.  C.  S.  Hamilton,  known 
to  everybody  here  as  Capt.  Hamilton,  had  an  oil  mill  here  and  made 
a  large  amount  of  linseed  oil.  It  was  located  on  West  Division 
street,  on  a  portion  of  the  land  now  owned  by  the  Gurney  Refrigerator 
Company.  Hydraulic  pressure  was  used  to  press  the  oil  out  of  the 
ground  flax  seed,  and  the  amount  of  pressure  was  almost  inconceiv- 
able, the  material  coming  out  of  the  pressure  cylinder  as  hard  as  a 
board  and  as  dry  as  baked  sawdust.  After  the  war  the  mill  was  moved 
to  Milwaukee,  where  Gen.  Hamilton  afterwards  resided. 


240  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

A  Grand  Masquerade. 

The  first  masquerade  given  b}-  the  Fond  du  Lac  Turners  for  the 
benefit  of  the  German  and  English  Academy,  was  in  Amory  Hall, 
February  21,  1858,  and  was  one  of  the  largest  and  most  brilliant 
parties  ever  seen  in  this  city.  It  was  not  wholly  a  German  afifair,  but 
the  people  of  all  nationalities  were  there  to  the  extent  that  Amory 
Hall  was  so  crowded  that  dancing  was  impossible.  A  small  space 
would  be  cleared  for  the  dancers,  but  it  would  be  filled  again  before 
the  committee  could  get  twenty  feet  away.  About  everything  in 
society  was  there,  from  the  low  clown  Indian  wigwam  and  negro  hut, 
to  the  most  brilliant  court  scenes  of  Europe  and  the  high  social  circle 
of  this  country.  Seemingly  about  every  condition  of  people  was 
represented.  The  hall  was  new  and  attractive,  the  music  was  the 
best  to  be  obtained  and  the  school  was  a  very  popular  one  under  ex- 
cellent management  and  was  patronized  by  leading  families  of  the 
city.  The  greatest  care  was  taken  that  no  objectionable  person 
should  be  allowed  to  enter  the  hall  at  these  masquerades,  or  that  dis- 
tasteful characters  should  appear.  x\nd  so  for  many  years  these 
functions  were  very  popular  and  largely  attended.  But  like  every- 
thing else  the  time  came  for  a  change.  For  some  reason  the  school 
went  into  a  decline  and  the  attendance  was  so  small  that  it  could 
not  be  continued.  Prof.  Schmidt  went  to  Appleton,  where  he  was 
killed  by  the  cars,  and  the  grand  days  of  the  German  and  English 
Academy  had  fully  passed  away.  It  is  understood  that  this  was  not 
the  result  of  bad  management  of  poor  teachers,  but  on  account  of 
small  attendance.  It  was  a  steady  decline  for  more  than  thirty  years. 
In  its  prosperous  days,  the  school  of  the  German  and  English 
Academy  in  Fond  du  Lac,  was  believed  to  be  the  best  in  the  state. 


Mr.  Beeson  as  a  Musician. 

One  of  the  boys  at  one  time  in  Beeson's  Job  Printing  office,  was 
the  possessor  of  that  primitive  little  instrument  known  as  a  flageolet, 
and  Mr.  Beeson  would  sometimes  amuse  himself  with  it,  though  he 
could  not  play  a  tune.  One  day  Jay  Hall  came  along  pretty  full  of 
whiskey,  as  usual,  and  ofifered  Beeson  a  dollar  to  be  applied  to 
charity,  if  he  would  play  as  loud  as  he  could,  the  tune  he  could  play 
best.  Beeson  puffed  his  cheeks  and  went  at  it,  making  lots  of  noise 
but  no  tune.  Jay  refused  to  pay  on  the  ground  that  it  was  not  a 
tune,  but  after  a  long  argument  they  compromised  on  the  payment 
of  fifty  cents. 


Old  Fashioned  Democrats. 

In  the  early  days  of  city  and  county,  D.  R.  Curran,  D.  E. 
Hoskins,  John  B.  Wilber,  John  Bonnell,  J.  L.  D.  Eycleshimer,  Frank 
D.  McCarty,  E.  W.  Drury,  Geo.  W.  Weikert,  John  B.  Macy,  Amos 
Reed,  H.  K.  Laughlin.  Geo.  W.  Mitchell,  Capt.  D.  P.  Mapes,  S.  M. 
Smead,  Aaron  Walters  and  many  others,  were  democrats  that  never 
swerved  from  the  old  democratic  path. 


ADDRESS  BY  H.  E.  SWETT 


Address  Before  the  Old  Settlers'  Club,  September  2,  1904,  at  the  Fair 
Grounds  in  the  City  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis. 


"Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  The  subject  which  I  have  been  given 
to  speak  upon  before  you  today,  is  somewhat  formidable  in  its 
phraseology.  It  was  probably  assigned  to  me  in  the  spirit  with 
which  Johnny  set  thirty-five  eggs  under  a  pet  hen.  He  reported  the 
fact  to  his  mother,  who  exclaimed,  'Why  Johnny,  you  don't  expect 
her  to  cover  as  many  eggs  as  that,  do  you?'  Johnny  replied,  'Of 
course  not,  but  I  wanted  to  see  the  darned  old  thing  spread  herself.' 

"  'The  elements  of  civilization  which  have  drawn  so  many  of  the 
best  people  of  the  world,  who  have  made  Fond  du  Lac  county  one  of 
the  best  in  the  grand  state  of  Wisconsin.' 

"That  is  the  subject  to  which  I  invite  your  attention. 

"The  Creator  endowed  Fond  du  Lac  county  with  a  fruitful  soil 
and  blessed  it  with  a  kindly  climate.  True,  the  climate  is  rigorous 
and  changeable,  and  the  surface  in  places  is  rough,  but  the  produc- 
tions are  varied  and  bountiful,  and  each  year  there  has  been  a  crop 
for  harvesting.  Then,  too,  a  little  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  this  land 
was  free  and  unoccupied. 

"These  conditions  were  a  standing  invitation  for  the  thrifty  to 
come  here  and  profit  by  them.  Consequently,  the  more  pushing  and 
enterprising  of  those  who  were  toiling  for  a  bare  livelihood  on  the 
niggardly  slopes  of  New  England  came  here. 

"Tales  of  the  richness  of  the  great  valley  to  which  this  county 
belongs,  were  carried  even  across  the  ocean  to  Europe  and  they  in- 
spired with  hope  many  of  those  struggling  there  under  the  weight  of 
poverty  and  lack  of  opportunity.  It  was  the  progressive  ones  who 
came  here  from  those  different  places.  They  expended  their  energies 
in  developing  the  new  country,  and  the  impress  of  their  character 
still  remains.  They  were  courageous  and  industrious.  They  were 
ambitious  and  intelligent.  They  were  temperate  and  moral.  They 
were  the  best  in  the  world  as  settlers.  They  made  our  country  one 
of  the  finest  of  the  richest  agricultural  belt  within  the  territory  of  the 
United  State?.  Our  people  are  prosperous  and  their  prosperity  is 
evidenced  by  fine  farms,  fine  buildings,  fine  stock,  fine  fields,  fine 
carriages,  fine  horses,  fine  clothes  and  fine  times,  but  this  desirable 
condition  was  brought  about  by  long  years  of  grinding  toil  and  pinch- 
ing economy.  The  task  of  making  farms,  such  as  lie  about  us  today, 
out  of  the  forest  which  was  here  fifty  years  ago,  was  a  Herculean  one. 
To  many  of  you  this  statement  is  freighted  with  meaning  that  words 
cannot  express. 

"Turn  your  recollections  back  to  the  light  of  the  great  log  fires, 
where  the  riches  of  the  forest  which  had  been  slowly  accumulating 


242  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

for  you  throughout  ages,  were  dissipated  iu  smoke  in  order  that  }ou 
might  use  the  soil.  To  you,  then,  those  magnificent  gatherings  of 
children  of  the  sunlight  and  soil  were  but  incumbrances  and  obstacles, 
but  you  have  since  learned  to  sigh  for  the  treasure  so  wasted. 

"Allusion  to  those  log  fires  must  arouse  vivid  recollections  with 
those  of  you  whose  thatches  have  been  whitened  by  the  many  snows 
that  have  fallen  since  the  fires  died  away.  You  see  the  long  strings 
of  panting  oxen,  yoked  in  pairs,  and  straining  under  the  lash  while 
tugging  the  breaking  plows.  You  hear  the  cracking  of  roots  and  the 
rasp  of  stones  as  the  great  plows  tear  through  the  soil.  You  see  the 
blackened  stubs  and  the  thickly  dotting  ash  heaps.  You  smell  the 
odors  that  arise  from  the  newly  turned  furrows. 

'"Things  were  different  then  from  now.  Life  was  all  about  you 
exuberant,  impetuous  and  warm.  Everything  was  young  and  vigor- 
ous, even  the  sun  shone  brighter.  Your  hearts  were  strong  for  work, 
and  you  did  work ;  yes,  work,  work,  work.  In  the  season  allotted  for 
that  purpose  to  all  tenants  of  the  soil,  you  planted,  sowed,  reaped, 
threshed  and  stored  away.  All  life  was  busy  then,  but  after  the 
foliage  had  changed  from  green  to  gorgeous  hues  and  then  turned 
brown  and  dead,  after  the  winds  had  frolicked  with  the  leaves  and 
had  strewn  them  about  carelessly ;  after  the  rains  had  patted  them 
down  on  the  ground  and  fastened  them  there,  the  frost  embraced  the 
soil  and  the  growing  things  in  it  rested  under  a  blanket  of  snow  until 
springtime  called  them  to  activity  again.  But  you  did  not  rest.  Day 
after  day  the  ring  of  your  axes  echoed  on  the  biting  air,  and  one  after 
another  the  great  trees  fell.  You  cut  them  into  log  lengths,  you  split 
them  into  rails,  you  made  them  into  cord  wood  and  you  sawed  them 
into  lumber.  You  built  them  into  houses  and  you  built  them  into 
barns,  and  sometimes'^you  wastefully  burned  them  to  clear  the  land 
for  plowing.  Those  scenes  will  never  recur.  Conditions  have 
changed.  You  have  seen  the  evolution  which  has  lifted  almost  all 
the  labors  of  farming  from  the  shoulders  of  men  and  put  them  upon 
the  shoulders  of  horses.  The  sickle  has  been  replaced  by  the  self- 
binder,  and  the  flail  and  husking  peg  by  the  steam  thresher  and  corn 
shredder, 

"What  brought  about  these  things?  What  is  it  that  keeps  the 
great  ocean  of  humanity  ever  restless?  It  is  the  desire  for  gain,  for 
impro^•ement.  Desire  for  improvement  is  the  inspiration  of  progress. 
It  brought  our  settlers  here.  And  it,  coupled  with  the  exercise  of 
industry,  intelligence,  courage  and  economy,  accomplished  the  results 
of  which  we  are  so  justly  proud." 


Some  Straightening  Done. 

A  crookeder  stream  than  was  the  east  branch  of  the  Fond  du  Lac 
river  between  Western  avenue  bridge  and  Division  street,  in  a  state  of 
nature  could  hardly  be  imagined.  It  twisted  and  turned  and  hardly 
was  a  straight  rod  to  be  found.  A  good  job  was  made  of  it  when 
the  city  straightened  the  channel  as  we  see  it  now.  The  work  done 
on  it  by  the  city  was  a  necessity. 


TALES  OF  PIONEER  DAYS 


Embracing  Some  of  the  Remembrances  of  People  and  of  Interesting 

Events  in  the  Pioneer  Days  of  Fond  du  Lac  County. 

By  Madame  de  Neveu, 


Scout's  Lost  Dauphin  Story. 

Some  of  you,  doubtless  have  heard  of  the  pretended  "Lost 
Dauphin"  of  France,  whom  Mrs.  Catherwood  made  the  hero  of  her 
novel  "Lazarre."  It  is  almost  certain  that  the  son  of  Louis  XVI  and 
Marie  Antoinette  died  in  his  infancy.  I  am  confident  that  those  of 
you  who  believe  that  Eleazar  Williams  was  that  son,  would  have 
changed  your  minds  regarding  his  noble  birth,  had  you  seen  him  as 
many  dozens  of  times  as  I.  He  was  a  little,  black,  half-breed  Indian 
and  looked  more  like  an  Indian  than  a  full  blooded  one.  His  wife 
was  named  Jerdin  before  her  marriage  and  was  quarter  Indian,  her 
father  being  a  white  man  and  her  mother  a  half-breed.  If  any  of  you 
care  for  proof  of  Eleazar's  birth,  let  her  read  a  book  written  by  Arthur 
Little  and  called  (I  believe)  "The  Living  Churchman."  This  book 
declares  Eleazar  Williams  was  the  son  of  a  daughter  of  an  Episcopal 
missionary  in  New  York.  She  was  stolen,  with  the  rest  of  the  family, 
by  the  Oneida  Indians  and  carried  to  the  western  part  of  New  York, 
where  they  lived  for  years.  After  searching  many  years,  Mr.  Williams 
found  his  wife.  His  daughter  was  then  married  to  a  chief  and  had 
several  children.  She  refused  to  leave  her  husband  at  that  late  day, 
but  gave  her  oldest  child  to  her  father.  He  educated  the  boy  for  the 
ministry,  giving  him  his  own  name.  Eleazar,  Jr.,  came  to  Green  Bay 
as  a  missionar}^  and  when  Prince  de  Joinville  came  to  Green  Bay  he 
and  his  suite  nearly  died  with  laughter  over  Eleazar's  pretentions. 
After  bowing  and  scraping  before  "His  Majesty,"  each  man  would 
rush  from  the  room  and  fairly  roll  on  the  floor  in  convulsions  over 
the  calm  way  he  accepted  their  homage.  It  stands  to  reason  that  had 
he  been  the  true  claimant  to  the  throne,  the  Prince  would  never  have 
come  into  the  wilderness  to  seek  him.  All  of  these  Frenchmen  carried 
the  farce  to  the  end,  giving  him  presents  and  making  him  think  they 
believed  in  him. 

Indians  Were  Friendly. 

Buena  Vista  was  in  the  early  days  crossed  by  the  Indian  trail 
which  led  from  Milwaukee  to  Lake  Superior  and  almost  dailv 
Indians  passed.  LTsually  they  stopped  and  asked  for  food  which  they 
would  receive  in  a  dish  and  would  eat  out  of  doors,  sitting  on  the 
ground  near  the  house.  If  the  weather  was  stormy  they  ate  in  the 
house,  usually  squatting  on  the  floor.  If  I  had  nothing  cooked,  I 
would  give  them  potatoes,  squashes  and  a  kettle,  and  they  would 
cook  and  eat  the  vesretables  out  of  doors.    In  return  for  our  kindnesses 


244  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

to  them  the  Indians  would  very  frequently  leave  large  pieces  of  bear 
meat,  venison,  fish,  etc.,  for  us  and  though  many  were  the  times  they 
found  no  one  at  home,  and  they  would  enter  and  eat,  yet  never  a  thing 
did  they  evei  steal  from  us,  and  later,  when  we  saw  them,  they  would 
always  tell  us  whom  we  had  entertained.  Sometimes  we  would  only 
be  aware  of  their  presence  by  seeing  them  peeking  in  the  windows 
and  the  next  minute,  always  waiving  ceremony,  they  would  walk  in 
the  house  and  with  many  grunts,  the  sounds  of  which  are  unspellable, 
they  would  point  to  their  mouths — that  required  no  translation.  Some 
of  them  could  understand  a  little  English.  I  finally  grew  to  under- 
stand some  of  their  words,  but  could  not  talk,  while  my  husband, 
getting  my  halting  translations,  could  talk  to  them  but  could  not 
understand  them.     Another  version  of  Jack  Spratt  and  his  wife. 

One  day  a  one-eyed  Indian  named  Pe-nasse-cisse,  walked  in,  took 
a  cup  from  the  table  and  after  drinking  some  water  accidentally  hit 
the  cup  and  broke  it.  I  motioned  it  was  nothing,  but  weeks  later  he 
brought  me  a  beautiful  piece  of  bear  meat,  thereby  proving  his  keen 
sense  of  obligation,  for  it  must  have  meant  much  to  him  to  give  the 
bear  meat,  as  he  was  considered  a  dependent  by  the  other  Indians, 
living  largely  on  their  bounty,  as  when  hunting  he  could  not  aim 
correctly,  having  but  one  eye.  Bear  meat  was  thought  to  keep  best 
hanging  out  of  doors  against  the  shady  side  of  the  house,  and  there 
we  hung  this  piece.  It  was  seen  by  Messrs.  Klock  and  Weikert, 
merchants  in  Fond  du  Lac,  who  happened  to  come  to  our  house.  Mr. 
Klock  said  he  loved  the  meat  and  asked  me  if  I  would  give  him  a 
piece.  I  told  him  to  help  himself  and  he  cut  off  about  eight  pounds. 
The  two  men  kept  bachelor's  quarters  above  their  store  and  later  re- 
ported to  me  a  feast  on  the  meat  in  their  rooms  for  themselves  and 
seven  or  eight  friends.  Mr.  Klock  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  H.  F.  Whit- 
comb,  of  Milwaukee. 

Scorned  the  Tomahawk. 

One  fall  my  husband  had  gone  to  see  how  the  Indians  were  paid 
at  Lake  Poygan  (then  called  Poywaygan.)  I  was  alone  with  the  ex- 
ception of  my  sister  Kate  and  my  baby  girl  about  six  months  old, 
during  his  absence  of  ten  days,  he  making  the  trip  on  horseback.  One 
day  while  he  was  away,  four  Indians  with  bodies  bare  to  their  waists 
and  hideously  painted,  passing  on  their  way  home  to  Milwaukee  from 
the  pay  grounds,  entered  the  house,  after  peeking  in  the  windows, 
and  asked  for  food.  I  gave  them  plenty  to  eat,  after  which  they 
begged  for  tobacco,  pipes,  soap,  etc.,  which  I,  tired  of  hearing — as  we 
shopped  at  this  time  in  Green  Bay — and  refused  to  give  them  anything 
more.  One  man  then  calmly  took  his  tomahawk  and  standing  so 
close  to  me  that  his  fringed  leather  leggings  vv^ould  touch  my 
dress  as  I  sat  sewing,  began  to  sharpen  it,  testing  the  edge  frequently 
and  looking  at  me  to  see  how  I  was  taking  it.  He  soon  saw,  for  I 
jumped  up  and  told  him  to  puck-a-chee  and  he,  seeing  wrath  instead 
of  fear,  did  puck-a-chee,  and  when  outside  the  house,  roared  with 
laughter,  each  man  fired  a  salute  of  one  gun,  mounted  his  horse  and 
rode  away.    My  courageous  sister  in  the  meantime,  had  run  up  stairs 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  245 

imploring  me  "for  God's  sake  give  them  anything  and  everything." 
She  had  carried  my  baby  up  also  and  then  had  promptly  fainted. 
Many  w^ere  the  threats  she  made  of  "telling  mother"  how  fool-hardy 
I  was,  but  I  had  a  good  laugh  at  her  ever  after. 

Laughter  was  not  always  the  order  of  the  day,  however,  for  one 
day  I  was  badl}^  scared — an  Indian,  Shus-ko-meen  by  name — a  fearful 
man  who  boasted  of  his  butchery  and  savagery  at  Fort  Dearborn,  and 
whom  I  had  seen  at  Green  Bay,  walked  in  my  house  the  first  spring 
I  was  here  and  asked  for  the  Witch-e-mo-com-on  (Americans).  I 
looked  out  of  the  window  and  pointed  to  the  corner  of  the  house. 
He  simply  flew  out  of  the  house,  jumped  on  his  horse  and  disappeared 
forever.  My  husband  was  some  distance  away,  but  I  dared  not  let 
the  man  suspect  this  as  he  was  such  a  fiend.  He  had  evidently  just 
robbed  a  clothes  line,  for  his  only  garments  were  moccasins  and  a 
white  suit  of  canton  flannel  under  clothes,  wearing  no  hat  and  with 
hair  braided  and  tied  with  string,  the  braids  starting  from  over  the 
forehead  on  each  side  and  joining  in  one  braid  at  the  back. 

Another  day  Tot-on-a-wa  and  another  Indian  came  and  left  a 
bottle  of  whiske}'^  for  safe  keeping,  motioning  they  were  going  away 
hunting  all  winter  and  when  they  returned  would  be  very  tired  and 
then  would  want  the  whiskey ;  so  I  took  them  to  my  pantry  and 
showed  them  where  I  put  the  bottle  on  a  high  shelf.  Next  spring  I 
came  home,  after  spending  the  day  with  friends,  and  found  four  fine 
mallards  on  the  table  and  the  whiskey  gone. 

The  Indians  while  hunting  deer,  would  frequently  kill  does  with 
fawns  and  not  having  any  use  for  the  fawns,  would  always  give  them 
away.  At  different  times  they  gave  me  seven.  One  I  named  Dickie. 
He  was  a  smart  little  fellow  and  whenever  I  asked  him  to  come  and 
kiss  me,  would  lick  my  face.  When  I  told  my  husband  Dickie  would 
do  this,  he  laughed  at  the  idea,  so  one  day  as  my  husband  was  sitting 
in  the  doorway  I  called  Dickie,  and  he  not  only  came  to  kiss  me  but 
leaped  over  my  husband's  head  in  order  to  get  to  me. 

Another  fawn  I  had,  while  in  its  stable  one  day,  was  attacked  by 
a  wolf.  I  went  to  the  rescue  armed  with  a  hatchet,  but  the  wolf  ran. 
I  noticed  that  he  limped  and  the  next  day  our  neighbor's  dogs,  three 
miles  away,  killed  a  wolf  and  as  it  had  lost  part  of  one  foot.  I  knew 
'twas  my  wolf. 

I  was  always  fond  of  pets  and  had  many  and  it  may  interest  you 
to  hear  of  a  tiny  pet  pig  I  had.  I  cared  for  and  raised  it,  naming  it 
Sall}^  She  was  sent  away  several  times,  being  a  great  nuisance,  but 
like  a  bad  penny  would  always  turn  up.  What  do  you  think  of  a  pig 
swimming  the  Fox  river  to  get  home?  She  was  very  clever  and  once 
thought  she  would  do  a  little  temperance  work  and  went  into  a 
saloon  in  the  village.  The  man  in  charge  tried  to  eject  her  and  she 
objected,  attacking  him  savagely.  Screams  were  heard  and  a  crowd 
collected.  Some  one  who  knew  her  ran  for  my  brother,  who  went  in, 
finding  Sally  leaping  for  a  man  who  had  mounted  a  table.  His 
wooden  legs  were  within  her  reach  and  they  were  fairly  well  bitten. 
She  followed  John  meekly  away  when  he  called  her  and  scolded  her. 
If  I  had  her  now  I  should  chanoe  her  name  to  "Carrie." 


246  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  POND  DU  LAC 

During-  our  first  years  on  the  farm  our  calves  were  frequently 
attacked  by  wolves,  but  we  always  managed  to  rescue  them,  but  our 
neighbors,  Messrs.  Piatt  and  Vincent,  were  not  so  fortunate  as  they 
had  some  killed  by  bears  and  wolves.  Occasionally  at  night  on  the 
hill  where  our  house  now  stands,  the  wolves  would  gather,  and  many 
and  blood-curdling  were  their  cries.  Sometimes  my  husband  would 
take  his  French  hunting  horn  and  during  lulls  in  their  serenades, 
would  play  to  them.  They  would  listen  in  absolute  silence  until  the 
music  would  again  sound.  His  would  be  the  solo,  theirs  the  chorus. 
In  these  early  days  wild  strawberries  were  very  plentiful,  and  fre- 
quently I  have  picked  a  bushel  on  the  stems  in  about  two  hours. 

After  some  years  my  dear  friend,  Mrs.  Everett  Hoskins  would 
come  and  pick  berries  with  me.  She  always  brought  her  son,  then  a 
creeping  baby.  The  then  baby  is  now  known  to  you  as  your  ex-Mayor 
F.  B.  Hoskins.  One  day  while  gathering  berries,  about  a  mile  from 
home,  I  lost  my  bearings  and  as  the  afternoon  was  very  cloudy  I 
believe  I  would  have  been  obliged  to  stay  out  all  night  had  I  not 
heard  our  cow  bell  in  the  distance.  Knowing  that  calling  was  of  no 
use,  I  followed  the  sound  of  the  bell.  When  I  reached  the  cattle  I 
started  driving  them,  and  in  a  short  time  they  had  led  me  safely  home. 
Our  cows  roamed  everywhere  for  there  was  no  fence  between  here 
and  Milwaukee. 

When  a  Woman  Will,  She  Will. 

One  day  when  I  was  about  fifteen  years  old,  my  mother  found 
she  was  "out"  of  tea.  We  were  away  from  home  in  a  sugar  camp, 
and  always  being  ready  for  anything  that  came  up,  I  ofifered  to  go  to 
Green  Bay  for  some.  This  was  in  the  early  spring,  and  as  the  ice 
was  still  on  the  river  and  no  snow  on  the  land,  my  venturesome  spirit 
made  me  induce  my  driver  to  take  a  sleigh  and  go  the  six  miles  on 
the  ice.  We  covered  the  distance  in'  safety,  but  I  should  not  like  to 
state  how  fast  our  pony  had  to  trot,  but  trot  it  did  and  fast,  too,  for 
the  ice  swayed  with  us  and  the  spot  we  were  on  the  entire  distance 
was  bent  down  "V'shape.  Returning  home  that  night  was  an  impos- 
sibility, so  I  remained  with  friends  and  walked  back  the  next  day  under 
the  escort  of  a  boy  a  trifle  older  than  I.  When  we  reached  what  is 
now  the  first  lock  we  had  to  cross  the  river,  which  was  narrow  at  this 
point.  The  river  was  now  entirely  open  and  a  raging  torrent  here 
where  it  was  dammed.  A  mill  at  this  spot  was  in  course  of  construc- 
tion and  the  frame  only  was  up.  On  the  river  side  the  frame  held 
discourse  with  the-opposite  bank  by  means  of  ordinary  planks  in  some 
way  fastened  in  a  horizontal  position.  The  boy  with  me  insisted  that 
he  alone  should  cross,  but  I  indignantly  asserted  my  intention  of 
crossing  with  or  without  him  (when  a  woman  will,  she  will,  was  true 
even  then  you  see.)  So  I  climbed  up  forty  feet  and  then  walked  over 
on  the  beams,  holding  onto  braces  whenever  I  could  get  hold  of  one 
and  all  the  boy  could  do  was  to  keep  shouting  to  me  to  "not  look 
down."  The  water  was  foaming  and  boiling  down  below  us  and  very 
deep,  too,  as  you  may  realize  when  you  remember  that  huge  ships 
pass  the  place  now.    We  finally  reached  the  planks  and  then  the  land, 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  247 

and  if  I  did  not  confess  to  a  sense  of  relief,  it  was  because  I  would 
not — but  mother  received  both  her  tea  and  daughter  in  safety. 

Many  were  the  rides  I  took  during  my  life.  The  last  one  was 
when  I  was  about  78.  Regretting  my  refusal  to  go  driving  with  the 
family  one  beautiful  October  morning,  and  being  somewhat  lonely,  I 
decided  to  take  a  horseback  ride.  So  I  ordered  the  saddle  horse 
brought  to  the  door  and  I  mounted  and  started  away.  When  about 
a  mile  down  the  road  I  met  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  C.  Hamilton,  and  from 
their  laughter  and  surprise,  I  judged  it  advisable  not  to  let  my 
daughters  see  me.  So  I  hurried  home.  I  might  not  have  done  so  if 
I  had  liked  the  saddle.  I  broke  the  news  of  my  ride  to  the  family  by 
saying  I  w^anted  a  new  saddle,  for  I  did  not  enjoy  riding  on  that  one. 
We  did  get  the  new  saddle,  but  I  never  found  the  opportunity  to  ride 
again,  but  if  my  sight  were  good,  you  would  some  of  you  see  me  on 
horse  back  again  even  though  I  am  86. 

Our  lives  through  all  these  years  were  far  from  luxurious  ones 
and  were  more  than  full  of  work,  for  help  was  scarce  and  we  house- 
keepers had  to  be  our  own  dressmakers  and  tailors  and  no  sewing 
machines  for  years.  All  the  clothes  we  wore  our  own  busy  hands 
had  to  cut  and  sew. 

Gov.  Tallmadge  came  four  or  five  years  after  we  did.  Gov.  Doty 
had  a  house  built  when  we  came  but  he  was  here  very  little.  It  was 
he  who  told  my  husband,  in  Detroit,  of  our  little  lake. 

I  so  well  remember  in  1840  the  numbers  of  tiny  wild  ducks  there 
were  upon  the  lake.  We  had  only  a  dug-out  canoe,  one  of  the  tippiest 
things  in  the  world,  but  I  would  venture  out  in  it  and  paddle  in  the 
midst  of  the  ducklings,  but  where  the  duck  had  been  I  only  found  the 
water — they  would  give  quick  little  dives  and  escape.  I  tried  many 
times  to  catch  them  but  never  succeeded. 

No  human  voices,  save  our  own,  disturbed  the  echoes  of  our 
little  lake.  Loons  would  call,  ducks  and  geese  would  alight  without 
fear  and  swim  and  dive  with  no  one  to  disturb  them.  Can  you 
imagine  the  beauty  and  serenity  of  it  all?  "My  love  for  nature  is  as 
old  as  I,"  and  I  often  live  over  in  memory  all  that  sweet  time  in  the 
long  ago. 

A  Song  of  Long  Ago. 

A   song  of  long  ago: 

Sing  it  lightly — sing  it  low — 
Sing  it  softly — like  the  lispfng  of  the  lips 

We  used  to  know, 
When  our  baby — laughter  spilled 
From  the  glad  hearts  ever  filled 
W'ith  music  blithe  as  robin  ever  trilled! 

Let   the  fragrant  summer  breeze, 

And  the  leaves  of  locust  trees, 

And  the  apple  buds  and  blossoms,  and  the  wings  of  honey  bees, 

All  palpitate  with  gi^e, 

Till  the  happy  harmony 

Brings  back  each  ch^.dish  joy  to  you  and  me. 


248 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


Let  the  eyes  of  fancy  turn 

Where  the  tumbled  pippins  burn 

Like  embers  in  the  orchard's  lap  of  tangled  grass  and  fern, — 

There  let  the  old  path  winu 

In  and  out  and  on  benind 

The  cider-press  that  chuckles  as  we  grind. 

Blend  in  the  song  the  moan 

Of  the  dove  that  grieves  alone, 

And  the  wild  whir  of  the  locust,  and  the  bumble's  drowsy  drone; 

And  the  low  of  cows  that  call 

Through  the  pasture  bars  when  all 

The  landscape  fades  a^yay  at  evenfall 

Then  far  away  and  clear, 

Through  the  dusky  atmosphere, 

Let  the  wailing  of  the  killdee  be  the  only  sound  we  hear; 

O  sad  and  sweet  and  low 

As  the  memory  may  know 

Is  the  glad,  pathetic  song  of  Long  Ago! 

— Riley. 


Some  of  the  Ripon  Pioneers. 

Ripen  in  its  earliest  days  had  many  men  of  note  and  some 
hustlers.  A  few  of  them  were  members  of  the  Phalanx,  but  the 
larger  number  were  settlers  who  came  after  that  organization  had 
practically  ceased.  Many  of  these  settlers  became  noted  in  state 
and  nation.     Here  are  the  names  of  some  of  these  Ripon  pioneers : 


Capt.  D.  P.  Mapes. 
Col.  O.  H.  LaGrange. 
Col.  Ed.  Daniels. 
Maj.  H.  C.  Eggleston. 
Maj.  H.   S.  Town. 
Maj.  A.   E.   Bovay. 
Surgeon  H.  L.  Barnes.* 
E.   L.   Runals. 
Jerre  Dobbs.* 
W.   M.    Taggart. 
Wm.    Workman. 
O.  J.  Clark.* 
Put.  Mason. 
R.  D.  Mason. 
William  Starr. 


Geo.  W.  Mitchell. 
A.  B.  Pratt* 
Benj.   Pratt. 
J.  L.  Horner. 
A.  M.  Steels.    • 
Byron   Town. 
Sam   Fargo. 
J.    J.   Foote. 
Col.    B.    Pinckney. 
Dr.  A.  Everhard. 
Dr.  J.  Rogers. 
David  Greenway. 
Nathan   Hunter. 
D.   F.   Shepard. 
J.  Bowen. 


H.  B.  Beynon. 
Samuel    Sumner. 
L.   M.   Carlisle. 
J.    Woodruff. 
K.   Lindsley. 
0.  P.  Reed. 
D.   P.    Imson. 
Abram  Thomai?. 
J.   B.   Barlow. 
Geo.  Bushnell. 
Thos.  Ford. 
S.    B.   Fobes. 
C.  F.  Hammond. 
Chas.   Combs. 
James   Lambei't. 


Winnebago  Furniture  Company. 
C.  J.  L.  Meyer  began  making  furniture  at  this  well  known  plant 
but  was  not  successful.  In  1886,  Maj.  E.  R.  Herren  and  C.  V. 
McMillan,  of  Stevens  Point,  bought  the  Me)^er  plant  and  formed  the 
above  company,  which  has  been  remarkably  successful.  As  business 
men  they  have  no  superiors  and  the  very  large  business  is  so  managed 
as  to  be  one  of  the  solid  enterprises  in  Fond  du  Lac.  The  plant  is 
always  a  busy  place.  As  to  business  reliability  it  has  no  superior  in 
the  city. 

In  this  year  1905,  all  those  are  dead  except  the  five  marked  * 


QUAKER  ABOLITIONISTS 


Something  About   These   PecuHar   People,   of   Which   Fond   du    Lac 
Has  Had  a  Few  in  Times  Past. 


Speaking  of  J.  A.  Smith,  founder  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  Common- 
wealth, as  a  Quaker  Abolitionist,  it  occurs  to  the  writer  that  there 
are  many  people  now  who  do  not  know  the  real  meaning  of  either 
of  these  terms.  We  have  drifted  away  from  these  people  and  we  now 
hear  little  about  either.  The  Quakers  are  a  religious  sect  who  believe 
in  keeping  as  near  to  Bible  times  and  practices  as  possible.  They 
use  Bible  language,  ignore  styles  in  dress,  number  the  days  of  the 
week  instead  of  naming  them,  believe  the  gospel  to  be  free,  hence  do 
not  pay  ministers  for  preaching,  invariably  speak  of  churches  as 
meeting  houses  and  altogether  are  a  strictly  honest  and  truthful  class 
of  people.  There  are  some  of  them  left  in  Philadelphia,  a  few 
colonies  in  North  Carolina,  a  large  colony  in  North  Dakota  and  a 
congregation  in  Minneapolis  and  a  few  other  cities.  In  central  Ohio 
a  few  country  congregations  are  left,  but  the  Quakers  have  largely 
disappeared  and  a  great  loss  it  is. 

An  abolitionist  as  understood  in  times  ante-dating  the  war.  was 
one  who  demanded  the  abolition  of  slavery  as  a  great  national  wrong. 
The  emancipation  proclamation  was  issued  by  President  Lincoln  in 
1863,  since  which  time  little  has  been  known  or  heard  of  abolitionists. 
There  was  a  time  when  it  required  considerable  courage  to  be  known 
by  this  term.  Abolitionist  speakers  were  egged  and  mobbed.  An 
abolitionist  was  likely  to  have  the  doors  of  his  house  daubed  with  very 
offensive  material,  or  an}-  sort  of  trick  played  upon  him  personally. 
The  democratic  and  whig  parties  were  both  pro-slavery,  and  the 
first  serious  move  made  by  the  abolitionists  in  politics  was  in  1840, 
when  they  ran  James  G.  Burney  for  president.  In  1844,  in  the  Polk 
and  Clay  campaign,  there  was  a  great  awakening  and  as  the  south 
seemed  determined  to  extend  slave  territory,  the  people  of  the  north 
stirred  themselves  to  resist  it.  In  1848  came  the  free  soil  party  and 
a  man  could  with  safety  declare  himself  to  be  an  abolitionist.  In 
1852  with  the  advent  in  congress  of  measures  for  the  admission  to 
the  union  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  and  the  efforts  of  southern  mem- 
bers to  force  slavery  into  them,  the  whig  party  had  drifted  some- 
what toward  freedom,  but  not  strong  enough  to  control  the  party  and 
Gen.  Whinfield  Scott  met  the  opposition  of  the  free  soilers  with  John 
P.  Hale,  now  the  party  of  the  abolitionists,  who  were  much  stronger 
than  ever  before  in  their  work  against  slavery.  But  the  whig  party 
could  continue  no  longer  and  was  not  heard  from  in  1856.  In  the 
meantime  the  democratic  champion,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  appeared 
with  his  doctrine  of  "Squator  Sovereignty,"  which  meant  to  allow 
the  people  to  vote  out  there,  and  vote  slavery  up  or  vote  it   down. 


250  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Here  the  whig  party  disappeared  in  1856  and  John  C.  Freemont 
marked  the  advent  of  the  republican  party.  From  1840  the  opponents 
of  slavery  increased  in  number  and  were  now  able  to  retire  one  of  the 
great  parties  of  the  country.  The  democratic  party  was  still  loyal  to 
the  south,  and  so  able  to  elect  their  candidate,  James  Buchanan,  to 
the  presidency,  but  were  retired  thereafter  for  a  quarter  of  a  centviry. 
The  people  arose  in  their  might  in  i860,  elected  Abraham  Lincoln, 
and  then  came  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  an  attempt  to  destroy  the 
union  to  found  a  southern  confederacy  to  save  slavery.  But  after  four 
years  of  the  bloodiest  and  most  gigantic  war  in  history,  the  abolition- 
ists and  their  freedom  loving  successes  were  the  victors.  President 
Lincoln  did  not  issue  the  proclamation  of  emancipation  until  1863, 
and  after  he  had  exhausted  all  efforts  for  peace  that  were  honorable 
to  all  concerned.  The  old  abolitionists  bore  their  trials  to  the  end 
with  all  meekness  and  fortitude.  All  this  is  what  the  term  means  as 
applied  to  national  politics.  We  all  rejoice  now  that  there  is  no 
more  of  those  troubles  and  that  a  man  is  now  free  to  talk  as  he  will 
in  all  parts  of  this  great  country,  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  en- 
lightened on  top  of  the  earth.  He  is  no  longer  expected  to  make 
excuses  for  slavery  or  for  anything  foul  that  may  come  to  nations. 

The  ''underground  railroad."  No  doubt  you  have  often  read 
about  it  and  heard  about  it,  but  do  you  know  really  what  it  means? 
In  the  forties  the  writer  lived  on  the  main  line  of  the  great  under- 
ground railroad,  and  hundreds  of  times  did  he  in  the  night  hear  the 
wagons  or  cars  go  by  his  home  in  central  Ohio.  It  was  a  means  of 
help  for  worthy  and  persecuted  negroes  to  escape  from  slavery  in 
Kentucky  to  freedom  in  Canada.  This  line  was  run  largely,  in  fact 
almost  wholly  by  Quakers,  who  were  abolitionists  almost  to  a  man. 
Transportation  was  almost  wholly  at  night,  the  sidetracks  for  the  day 
being  in  Quaker  settlements,  there  being  at  that  time  several  between 
the  Ohio  river  and  the  lakes.  The  only  secret  about  it  seemed  to  be 
when  the  w^agons  would  be  upon  the  road.  There  might  be  intervals 
of  several  weeks  or  nearly  every  day.  This  practice  gave  ground  for 
the  main  argument  in  congress  for  the  fugitive  slave  law  signed  by 
President  Fillmore  in  1850,  which  caused  great  excitement,  but  in 
the  end  did  the  slave  power  far  more  harm  than  good. 

The  fugitive  slave  law  troubles  have  a  local  application  to  Wis- 
consin and  to  Fond  du  Lac  county,  since  we  had  a  taste  of  it  in  the 
Glover  rescue,  the  arrest  of  Booth  and  Rycraft  for  violation  of  its 
provisions,  and  the  taking  of  S.  M.  Booth  from  the  custody  of  the 
United  States  marshal  and  secreting  him  near  Ripon.  Guns  were 
taken  from  the  armory  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  guards  in  1858,  with 
which  to  defend  Booth  if  necessary.  The  situation  showed  many 
earnest  abolitionists  here  at  that  time  and  particularly  at  Ripon. 

It  is  not  out  of  place  to  state  here  that  Edward  Beeson  came  from 
Pennsylvania  Quaker  stock,  and  to  the  day  of  his  death  was  a  believer 
in  Quaker  practices,  though  he  did  not  use  their  language.  In  re- 
ligious thought  he  was  more  of  a  Quaker  than  anything  else.  The 
proper  name  is  Friends,  the  word  Quaker  being  but  a  nickname  be- 
stowed upon  them. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  251 

There  was  another  term  frequently  used  half  a  century  ago,  but 
is  seldom  heard  now.  A  person  is  now  spoken  of  as  honest  or  a  thief, 
as  truthful  or  a  liar,  as  straight  or  crooked,  right  or  wrong,  genuine 
or  a  fraud.  The  word  hypocrite  or  hypocrisy  seems  to  have  lost  its 
old  time  significance.  There  is  no  middle  ground  now  to  give  it  the 
old  time  application.  Extremes  of  character  rule  now.  It  is  hardly 
known  now  what  a  hypocrite  is,  but  there  is  no  mistake  about  the 
modern  designations  of  liar,  thief  and  fraud.  We  cannot  object  to  the 
words  but  only  to  the  daily  application  of  them  to  persons. 

And  the  methods  of  expression  and  terms  now  used  are  not 
really  the  successors  of  those  of  a  half  century  ago.  Old  ones  have 
dropped  out  and  entire  new  ones  coined.  The  older  people  of  today 
onh'  know  what  some  expressions  mean  by  having  been  here  during 
the  period  of  manufacture  of  the  new  ones.  Slang  adjectives  have 
appeared  by  scores  and  some  of  them  have  been  forced  into  permanent 
adoption.  Still  it  goes  on  and  our  children  fifty  years  hence  may  be 
doing  the  same  sort  of  work  we  have  been  at  in  the  coinage  of  words 
in  the  last  half  century.  The  Quaker  is  almost  unknown,  the  work  of 
the  abolitionist  has  ceased,  the  hypocrite  is  unknown  by  that  name. 


A  Nephew  of  Gen.  Longstreet. 

Gen.  Longstreet,  of  confederate  fame  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion, 
once  had  a  nephew  who  was  a  resident  of  Fond  du  Lac  county,  \\  is- 
consin.  Our  member  of  the  Longstreet  family  resided  in  the  town  of 
Osceola,  and  while  putting  in  a  claim  of  being  a  farmer,  was  not  much 
of  a  farmer  after  all.  He  was  more  of  a  schemer  and  speculator  than 
farmer.  He  was  a  good  talker  and  of  course  a  strong  pro-slavery 
democrat,  preferring  southern  ideas  to  those  of  the  north.  He  was 
proud  of  his  uncle,  Gen.  Longstreet. 


Alonzo  Raymond's  House. 

Alonzo  Raymond,  a  very  early  settler  here  and  the  first  man 
married  in  Fond  du  Lac  county,  built  a  house  which  seemed  large 
at  that  time,  at  the  corner  of  Marr  and  Eighth  streets,  and  was  often 
talked  to  about  building  so  far  out  of  reach  of  neighbors.  He  said 
he  guessed  it  would  be  all  right  after  a  while,  and  so  it  was.  How 
many  can  remember  now  of  a  time  when  there  were  not  plenty  of 
neighbors  in  that  vicinitv. 


Imitation  Stone  Made  Here. 

In  1876,  imitation  stone  was  first  introduced  in  Fond  du  Lac  by 
John  C.  Bishop,  who  accepted  the  agency  of  a  factory  where  the 
stone  was  moulded  to  any  size  or  shape  desired  for  building  or 
cemetery  purposes.  The  material  was  colored  to  any  color  desired. 
Why  it  was  not  a  success  it  is  difficult  to  say,  but  such  was  the  case. 
A  like  material  is  now  made  here. 


252  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

The  Old  Lathrop  Ellis  House. 

Lathrop  Plllis  was  a  many  years'  resident  surveyor  and  civil  en- 
gineer in  Fond  du  Lac.  He  was  a  number  of  times  elected  county 
surveyor  and  did  a  great  deal  of  work  in  that  line  when  not  a  county 
ofHcial.  His  home  for  many  years  was  the  small  house  that  until  a 
few  years  ago  stood  on  Marr  street,  next  north  of  W.  W.  Clark.  Mr. 
Ellis  moved  to  Nebraska  and  resided  near  Nebraska  City  until  his 
death  a  few  years  ago. 


Banks  in  the  County. 

First  Wisconsin  Bank,  North  Fond  du  Lac. — Capital  $27,500. 
S.  D.  Wyatt,  President;  Dr.  D.  J.  Pullen,  Vice-President:  Fred 
Givens,  Cashier. 

First  National  Bank  of  Campbellsport,  Wis. — Capital  $25,000. 
S.  J.  Barber,  President ;  John  Loebs,  Vice-President ;  H.  A.  Bacon, 
Cashier. 

Bank  of  J.  R.  Foster  &  Son,  Brandon. — Capital  $50,000.  J.  R. 
Foster,  President ;  J.  W.  Foster,  Cashier. 

Bank  of  Oakfield. — Capital  $20,000.  F.  J.  Bristol,  President;  C. 
G.  Morgan,  Vice-President;  W.  E.  Bristol,  Cashier;  Clara  Orvis, 
Assistant  Cashier. 

Rosendale  State  Bank. — Capital  not  listed.  A.  Salisbury,  Presi- 
dent ;  C.  L.  Hill,  Vice-President ;  Frank  Bowe,  Cashier. 


The  First  Bookbindery. 
Fond  du  Lac's  first  bookbindery  was  started  by  J.  R.  &  J.  W. 
Partridge,  over  their  drug  store  in  the  centre  of  the  old  Darling 
block,  in  1855.  Ed.  Sickles,  killed  in  the  great  railroad  accident  on 
the  opening  of  the  Northwestern  road,  was  the  binder  in  charge,  and 
his  brother-in-law,  the  late  Col.  C.  H.  DeGroat,  was  his  assistant. 
All  of  the  binding  for  the  Northern  Division  of  the  Northwestern 
road,  was  done  there,  and  of  course  neatly  and  well  done,  as  T.  F. 
Strong,  Jr.,  had  charge  of  the  work  for  the  road,  and  "Tim"  could 
not  tolerate  anything  slouchy.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Sickles,  the 
bindery  was  sold  to  J.  A.  Smith,  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  an 
Englishman  named  Aldred,  was  the  binder  several  years.  Much  of 
his  work  is  now  in  the  Resfister's  office  at  the  court  house. 


An  Early  Door  Factory. 

In  1855,  on  the  lot  next  east  of  the  armory  of  Co.  E,  now  occupied 
by  the  residence  of  Mr.  Swett,  was  located  a  shop  in  which  doors  were 
made,  and  was  probably  the  first  door  factory  in  Fond  du  Lac.  Doors 
were  made  before  this  date,  but  not  in  a  factory  as  a  business. 
Though  of  small  capacity,  this  was  really  a  door  factory.  It  was 
owned  and  conducted  by  Norman  Whitacre,  the  early  date  grocery- 
man,  and  it  was  one  of  the  first  places  in  which  Solon  Edson  worked 
after  he  came  here,  and  he  can  tell  of  many  interesting  and  amusing 
incidents  connected  with  the  work  there. 


THE  PRINTER  EDITOR 


How  the  Early  Days'  Print  Shop  Men  Had  To  Work  Their  Way. 
Difficulties  They  Encountered. 


When  he  came  to  Wisconsin  in  1850,  from  Ohio,  A.  T.  Glaze  had 
already  served  time  as  a  printing  office  apprentice.  He  was  skilled  in 
any  and  all  departments  of  printing  office  work.  A  severe  run  of 
scarlet  fever  compelled  him  to  abandon  the  course  at  Heidelburg 
after  two  and  one-half  of  the  four  years,  and  thus  equipped  mentally 
and  mechanically,  he  came  to  Fond  du  Lac  and  entered  the  office  of 
the  Journal,  established  by  Henning  &  Hooker,  in  1846,  but  at  this 
time  owned  by  Edward  Beeson.  The  early  day  work,  editorial  as  well 
as  mechanical,  of  Mr.  Glaze,  may  be  seen  in  the  files  of  the  old 
Journal  in  the  rooms  of  the  public  library.  At  this  time  competent 
printers  were  not  numerous  and  material  could  not  be  obtained  as 
now,  so  the  services  of  Mr.  Glaze  were  often,  in  demand  in  the  region 
round  about,  in  starting  new  papers.  He  was  called  even  to  Oshkosh, 
more  than  once,  to  make  rollers,  cover  tympon  frames  of  hand 
presses,  cutting  rules  and  leads  for  first  forms  and  adjusting  them, 
and  by  no  means  a  pleasant  job,  as  we  had  no  rule  or  lead  cutter,  the 
former  being  cut  with  a  file  and  the  latter  with  a  knife.  It  may  be 
of  interest  to  many  to  state  the  fact  that  the  present  Oshkosh  North- 
western was  started  as  a  weekly  by  the  Messenger  boys  and  Mr. 
Glaze  made  the  rollers  and  helped  them  to  adjust  the  forms.  He 
made  two  or  three  sets  of  rollers  for  the  old  Oshkosh  Courier,  owned 
by  Reed  &  Nevitt.  He  went  to  Berlin  once,  overland,  to  assist  in 
putting  the  Marquette  Mercury  afloat.  There  was  no  Green  Lake 
county  then — it  was  part  of  Marquette  county.  After  this  he  went 
there  to  help  Uri  Carruth  with  the  Spectator,  and  made  the  trip  on 
the  steamboat  Badger  State,  Capt.  W.  A.  Knapp.  Early  in  1862,  he 
made  rollers  and  assisted  A.  P.  Mapes  in  launching  a  paper  that  not 
long  after  was  thrown  into  the  street  by  some  of  the  men  of  Ed. 
Daniel's  First  Wisconsin  Cavalry  for  alleged  disloyalty.  He  was 
once  sent  for  to  assist  in  putting  afloat  a  paper  at  Kingston,  but 
sent  Walworth  Chapel  to  do  the  work.  The  well  known  early  day 
country  lawyer,  Rufus  P.  Eaton,  by  some  means  got  hold  of  the  idea 
that  there  ought  to  be  a  paper  at  Pequot  Village,  near  what  is  now 
Winnebago  Park,  got  his  old  press  from  Edwards,  at  Oshkosh,  and 
maybe  half  enough  type,  and  sent  for  Mr.  Glaze  to  help  him  out. 
But  before  getting  things  in  shape  to  start  his  foolish  enterprise,  sold 
the  outfit  to  Flavins  Josephus  Mills,  and  it  went  to  Sheboygan  and 
into  the  office  of  the  Lake  Shore  Journal.  In  1852  Mr.  Beeson  sold 
the  Journal  to  M.  J.  Thomas,  son-in-law  of  John  B.  Macy,  and  resulted 
in  the  change  to  Fond  du  Lac  Union  to  aid  in  the  election  of  Mr. 
Macy  to  congress.  The  Journal  was  dormant  for  a  while,  but  was 
put  afloat  again  by  Kingman  Flint,  son  of  Judge  Flint,  and  S.  D. 


254  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Stanchfield,  uncle  of  our  present  S.  B.  Stanchfield.  But  its  light  went 
out  again  after  a  year  or  two,  as  did  that  of  the  Union,  all  of  which 
was  in  the  interest  of  Smead's  Democratic  Press.  But  the  old 
Journal  could  not  rest  in  peace,  and  was  revived  by  Tim  Strong,  Jr., 
one  of  the  best  educated  men  Fond  du  Lac  ever  had.  It  drifted  into 
the  hands  of  James  Russell  and  thence  to  Edward  Beeson  again.  In 
his  old  age  Mr.  Beeson  sold  it  to  Jake  Bloom  and  last  of  all  it  was 
absorbed  by  the  Reporter,  where  it  still  rests.  With  many,  indeed 
most  of  these  changes,  Mr.  Glaze  had  much  to  do,  editorially  and 
mechanically,  but  the  difficulties  encountered  were  far  less  than  those 
of  the  early  days.  The  Fond  du  Lac  Commonwealth,  resulting  from 
the  consolidation  of  the  Western  Freeman  and  Fountain  City  Herald, 
in  the  hands  of  J.  A.  Smith,  in  1854,  the  Saturday  Reporter  started  in 
1862  by  J.  J.  Beeson,  son  of  Edward  Beeson,  and  the  Ripon  Common- 
wealth, founded  upon  the  ruins  of  the  Prairie  City  Record  in  1864, 
by  A.  T.  Glaze,  all  successful  newspapers  of  today,  each  in  their 
infancy  had  their  clothing  adjusted  by  Mr.  Glaze. 

The  job  printers  really  had  more  difficulties  than  the  newspaper 
printers.  The  latter,  when  they  had  the  forms  once  adjusted,  had  only 
to  distribute  the  used  type  and  make  up  with  that  newly  set,  lock  the 
forms  and  go  to  press,  but  the  job  printer  was  constantly  encounter- 
ing something  new,  and  being  short  of  type  he  had  often  to  cut  lines 
of  wood  type,  use  home  made  borders,  patch  rules,  cut  rules  with  a 
file,  and  leads  with  a  knife,  use  a  piece  of  plank  to  distribute -the  ink 
on  the  rollers,  make  a  paper  cutter  of  a  shoe  knife  and  coarse  stone 
and  many  similar  things  in  all  parts  of  the  work,  and  though  a  very 
good  printer,  he  may  be  horrified  to  find  a  hideous  job,  the  result  of 
his  best  efforts.  All  these  troubles  might  come  every  day,  but  the 
newspaper  man  faced  them  but  weekly.  Yet  how  many  of  the 
printers  of  today  would  care  to  face  either  task.  But  fifty  years  ago 
it  had  to  be  done  in  Fond  du  Lac  or  not  have  a  newspaper  or  print- 
ing office  at  all.  It  is  not  needful  to  face  these  troubles  now,  no 
matter  how  near  the  printer  may  go  to  the  pioneer  border.  Conditions 
are  different.  Material  is  more  plenti^ful,  easier  obtained,  in  greater 
variety  and  cheaper.  The  printer  of  the  long  ago  was  expected  to  be 
competent  for  every  part  of  the  work,  today  they  are  mostly  press- 
men, machine  men,  make-up  men,  and  general  utility  men.  Type 
setting  is  mostly  done  on  machines,  except  headings  and  display,  and 
it  is  daily  becoming  more  general.  Editors  in  the  old  times  wrote  up 
everything  that  came  his  way,  no  matter  on  what  subject.  Now  they 
are  divided  into  general,  local,  news,  society,  sporting,  financial,  etc. 
The  old  time  fellow  was  expected  to  be  up  in  all  these.  This  is  writ- 
ten, not  to  criticise  present  methods  but  to  show  the  difference  be- 
tween old  times  and  the  present.  Under  conditions  as  they  now  exist, 
old  methods  would  doubtless  be  impractical. 


After  having  served  as  County  Treasurer,  Gen.  John  Potter  said 
that  the  humiliation  of  getting  the  nomination,  the  expense  of  the 
election  and  annoyance  of  giving  the  bonds,  was  too  much  to  ask  of 
an  honest  man. 


HELPED  TO  MAKE  HISTORY 


History  Making  was  Active  in  Pioneer  Days  and  Here  is  Some  of 
It  to  Interest  and  Amuse  People  in  Our  Day. 

County  Seat  Contest. 

Few  people  now  living  in  Fond  du  Lac  have  remembrance  or 
knowledge  of  the  contest  had  in  the  forties  to  secure  and  hold  the 
county  seat.  Taycheedah  put  up  a  strong  fight.  Dr.  Darling  sold  lots 
for  $25.  or  gave  a  lot  to  anyone  who  would  build  on  it.  These  lots 
might  be  selected  anywhere  on  his  land,  and  this  liberal  policy  brought 
many  settlers.  But'^this  did  not  settle  the  matter,  although  it  helped 
much.  Taycheedah  owes  its  defeat  to  the  river  channel,  now  little 
better  than  a  slough,  from  Scott  street  to  the  lake.  Lake  navigation 
was  a  great  thing  at  that  time,  and  the  Fond  du  Lac  river  channel  was 
deemed  the  natural  harbor  at  the  south  end  of  the  lake.  It  was 
argued  that  vessels  must  seek  this  channel  for  safety.  The  people 
were  not  able  to  foresee  the  fact  that  in  just  ten  years  the  railroads 
would  kill  this  lake  navigation,  and  that  our  boasted  Fond  du  Lac 
river  would  be  almost  valueless.  But  at  the  time  of  which  we  write, 
that  channel  served  its  purpose  well  for  Fond  du  Lac.  It  was 
a  harbor  (please  don't  laugh),  but  how  much  of  a  harbor  is  it  now? 
For  more  than  forty  years  the  harbor  idea  could  be  treated  as  a  joke, 
yet  it  brought  the  county  seat  to  Fond  du  Lac. 

During  the  time  of  the  controversy,  Taycheedah  was  a  prosperous 
village.  There  were  two  hotels,  two  or  three  stores,  machine  shops, 
carpenter  shops,  cabinet  shops,  harness  shops,  a  mill,  a  brewery, 
a  pier  out  into  the  lake  for  vessels,  and  various  other  things 
that  go  to  the  making  of  a  prosperous  village.  The  chief 
justice*^  of  the  supreme  court  lived  there,  the  lieutenant  governor 
of  the  state  lived  there,  and  it  had  a  number  of  prominent 
men  as  citizens.  But  all  this  soon  changed  when  the  county 
seat  was  lost.  One  hotel  came  to  Fond  du  Lac  on  the  _  ice 
behind  eight  yoke  of  oxen,  several  houses  came  overland,  and  since 
then  many  of  the  old  houses  have  burned  and  others  gone  to  ruin,  and 
today,  but  for  the  summer  resort  homes,  the  village  would  be  in  very 
poor  health.  But  who  will  venture  to  say  that  the  location  would 
not  have  been  a  beautiful  one  for  a  city.  The  views  from  the  slopes 
of  the  ledge  are  grand,  and  the  varying  landscape  most  desirable  for 
homes.  Fond  du  Lac  gained  the  day  and  prospered.  Taycheedah 
lost  and  sank  to  ruin. 

Was  a  Close  Contest. 

Previous  to  1856,  the  territory  now  included  in  Tvlarquette  and 
Green  Lake  counties  was  in  one  county  under  the  name  of  Marquette, 
with  Montello  then,  as  now,  the  county  seat.     But  trouble  came  over 


256  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 

the  county  seat  question,  which  was  only  settled  by  dividing  the 
county  and  creating  the  county  of  Green  Lake.  But  now  came 
trouble  in  the  new  county.  Princeton,  Berlin,  Marquette,  Kingston 
and  Dartford  were  all  in  the  field,  but  it  finally  went  to  Dartford. 
Ripon  now  came  into  the  field.  A  bill  to  detach  the  towns  of  Ripon, 
Metomen  and  Alto  from  Fond  du  Lac  county  and  add  them  to  Green 
Lake,  failed  in  the  legislature,  but  a  bill  did  pass  authorizing  the 
people  of  Fond  du  Lac  county  to  vote  on  a  proposition  to  detach  the 
town  of  Ripon  from  this  county  and  attach  it  to  Green  Lake.  This 
proposition  was  voted  upon  at  the  fall  election  of  1859,  and  resulted 
in  a  majority  against  it  of  107,  the  vote  being  2,604  for  and  2,711 
against.  But  now  came  another  contest.  The  legislature  directed 
that  the  ballot  should  read:  "For  Detaching  Ripon,"  or  "Against 
Detaching  Ripon."  Some  friends  of  Ripon  had  tickets  printed  reading 
"Against  Division,"  and  some  of  them  were  voted  and  returned  as 
cast.  In  the  canvass  of  the  votes  Ripon  contended  that  the  law  fixed 
a  specific  form  of  ballot  and  that  those  votes  could  not  be  legally 
counted  against  the  proposition.  The  canvassers  contended  that  the 
statutes  directed  that  the  evident  intention  of  the  voter  should  govern, 
and  that  the  evident  intention  of  the  voters  in  this  case  was  to  vote 
against  the  proposition,  and  so  canvassed  them.  The  case  went  to  the 
supreme  court  and  was  so  decided  there.  This  ended  the  efiforts  of 
Ripon  to  become  the  county  seat  of  Green  Lake  county,  and  the  whole 
subject  has  now  gone  so  far  into  the  past  that  it  is  forgotten  except 
by  a  few.  Forty-five  years  of  peace  have  now  reigned  on  that  subject, 
and  it  is  likely  to  continue. 

Looking  at  the  matter  candidly  and  fairly,  no  one  can  blame 
Capt.  Mapes,  E.  L.  Runals,  Jerre  Dobbs,  Mr.  Workman  and  others 
for  their  determined  efforts  in  behalf  of  Ripon,  for  the  lay  of  the  land 
and  conditions  were  such  that  if  the  effort  had  carried,  Ripon  would 
unquestionably  have  been  the  county  seat  of  Green  Lake  county. 

Made  Wood  Type. 

In  1849,  Uncle  M.  Farnsworth  had  a  shop  on  East  First  street, 
where  T.  O'Connell's  carpenter  shop  is  now,  in  which  he  made  grain 
cradles  and  scythe  snaths  and  did  general  tinkering.  He  had  a  great 
variety  of  tools  and  much  bench  room,  and  he  being  a  very  kind- 
hearted  old  gentleman,  was  free  to  allow  others  to  use  the  tools  and 
shop  room.  It  was  a  favorite  place  of  resort  for  those  who  desired  to 
do  work  of  their  own.  He  seemed  to  be  glad  to  have  those  developing 
patents  or  doing  any  sort  of  tinkering  to  come  there.  Wood  type 
was  then,  of  course,  high  in  price  and  difficult  to  obtain,  and  so  it  came 
about  that  A.  T.  Glaze  cut  a  large  amount  of  wood  type  in  the  shop, 
made  small  cuts,  and  with  the  aid  of  A.  C.  Stow,  built  the  first  paper 
cutter  used  in  Fond  du  Lac.  It  was  a  pretty  good  one,  too,  and  was 
used  many  years  in  Beeson's  Job  Printing  office.  Mr.  Glaze  also 
made  four  banjos  there,  one  of  which  was  sold  by  William  Harbaugh 
to  an  Indianapolis  gentleman  for  $16.  The  first  one  made,  the  "lone 
fisherman,"  Harvey  Durand,  helped  him  to  string  and  tune  in  Philo 
Smith's  jewelry  store.     Mr.  Glaze  was  not  a  banjo  player,  but  simply 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  257 

took  a  notion  to  put  in  some  extra  hours  making  them.  They  were 
all  good  ones,  and  were  traded  or  sold  to  good  advantage.  He  made 
in  that  shop  many  things  for  printing  office  use,  then  not  so  easy  to 
obtain  as  now.  Uncle  M.  Farnsworth  is  held  in  grateful  remembrance 
for  his  efforts  in  enabling  the  writer  to  spend  so  many  pleasant  hours 
in  his  shop. 

Oldest  Continuous  Business. 

In  this  year  of  1905,  Mr.  G.  Scherzinger  has  the  fact  to  his  credit 
of  being  the  oldest  in  continuous  business  in  Fond  du  Lac.  He  began 
business  here  in  1854,  and  there  is  no  business  man  now  here  who 
antedates  him.  F.  Sander,  the  furniture  dealer,  opened  in  1855,  and 
is  second.  H.  G.  De  Sombre  began  his  jewelry  business  in  1856  and 
holds  third  place.  In  the  dry  goods  trade.  J.  C.  Whittelsey  is  the 
veteran,  coming  here  in  1855,  and  M.  Wagner  is  next,  coming  here  in 
1856,  but  did  not  enter  the  dry  goods  trade  in  his  own  name  until  1878. 
In  the  drug  trade,  Huber  Bros,  are  the  veterans,  dating  from  1864. 
Reeves  &  Son  are  second,  and  L.  J.  Remington  third.  The  veteran 
dealer  in  hardware  is  John  Hughes,  the  second  and  third  Wilkie  & 
Son  and  George  P.  Dana.  In  groceries,  Herman  Zinke  must  rank 
first,  the  Zinkes  being  in  business  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Sixth 
streets  from  the  early  fifties.  Mason  &  Son  sell  groceries  as  well  as 
crockery,  and  hold  second  place,  and  E.  H.  Jones  still  dealing  in  gro- 
ceries, is  third.  The  city  is  well  stocked  with  groceries  on  all  streets, 
some  of  them  a  few  years  old  and  some  but  a  few  weeks.  The 
veteran  shoe  store  is  Egelhoff's,  the  second  is  Youmans  and  the  third 
Fitzsimons.  The  oldest  bakery  is  Snow's,  the  oldest  meat  market 
Coughlin's,  the  oldest  tin  shop  Decker's,  the  oldest  saloon  Chapleau's, 
and  the  oldest  wood-working  shop  S.  W .  Edson's.  at  the  Five  Points. 
The  latter  is  probably  the  oldest  shop  of  any  sort  in  the  entire  city. 
In  shops  and  business  of  almost  every  kind,  the  changes  have  been 
rapid  and  numerous  in  the  last  twenty  years.  The  old-time  business 
men  have  quit  business  or  died. 

An  1848  Tin  Shop. 

The  1848  tin  shop  in  Fond  du  Lac  was  owned  by  Eliab  Perkins, 
afterwards  Perkins  &  AVilliams,  Perkins  &  Smith,  then  E.  Perkins 
again.  The  hardware  and  stove  store  became  the  property  of  Mr. 
Smith  and  his  widow  conducted  it  until  1896,  when  she  sold  it  and 
returned  to  the  east.  Mr.  Perkins  in  1864,  began  the  manufacture  of 
the  North  Pole  refrigerator  and  made  and  sold  many  hundreds  of 
them.  Two  years  later  he  invented  and  began  the  manufacture  of  a 
fire-proof  shutter,  which  for  a  time  had  an  enormous  sale.  The  brick 
building,  now  the  south  part  of  the  Wilkins  livery  barn,  was  erected 
as  a  factory  for  making  the  shutters.  Making  the  refrigerators  was 
abandoned  as  less  profitable,  and  in  1871,  after  the  great  Chicago  fire, 
the  shutter  factory  was  moved  to  that  city,  and  a  little  later  to 
Sycamore,  111.,  where  it  failed  in  competition  with  other  and  possibly 
better  shutters.  Mr.  Perkins  died  at  Minneapolis  in  1899,  and  his 
remains  were  brought  to  Fond  du  Lac  and  buried  at  Rienzi.  He  was 
a  remarkably  active  business  man,  but  seemed  to  lack  in  proper  man- 


258  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

agement.     He  is  believed  to  have  made  the  great  mistake  of  his  life 
when  he  left  Fond  du  Lac.     He  did  not  hesitate  to  say  so  himself. 

The  Old  Time  Singing  School. 

How  singular  that  the  old  fashioned  singing  school  has  disap- 
peared and  is  no  longer  a  part  of  our  educational  system.  In  the 
early  times  a  winter  would  no  more  than  fairly  begin  when  the  sing- 
ing school  came,  not  only  as  an  educational  feature,  but  as  a  source 
of  enjoyment,  and  the  young  people  especially  found  pleasure  and 
profit  in  them.  There  were  classes  for  adults  and  for  children. 
Emerson  H.  Hawley,  brother  of  Rev.  Silas  Hawley,  the  Congrega- 
tional minister,  had  a  music  store  here,  and  during  the  winter  months 
had  singing  classes  in  city  and  country  every  night  in  the  week  except 
Sunday.  He  was  an  excellent  teacher  and  so  he  was  in  demand  for 
ithis  work  several  years.  O.  B.  Judd  was  a  fine  teacher  for  children's 
classes,  and  old  residents  will  remember  how  the  little  folks  came  out 
to  his  school.  But  neither  Hawley  nor  Judd  could  succeed  in  their 
work  now.  Singing  schools  are,  to  use  a  modern  expression,  played 
out.  Why  this  is  so  it  is  difficult  to  say.  Even  the  old  time  musical 
convention  is  heard  of  no  more,  and  the  professional  conductor  of 
them  is  out  of  business.  It  has  been  many  years  since  Fond  du  Lac 
has  had  a  regular  singing  school  or  musical  convention. 

An  Old  Time  Quarrel. 

Ichabod  Codding  is  a  queer  name,  isn't  it?  Well,  he  was  a  queer 
man,  too.  He  was  a  Unitarian  minister,  and  also  a  decided,  old- 
fashioned  abolitionist,  who  used  to  make  political  speeches  before  the 
war.  He  abhorred  slavery  every  time  and  all  the  time.  One  evening 
Mr.  Codding  spoke  in  Darling's  Hall  and  Charles  A.  Eldredge  was 
there  to  hear  him,  and  at  the  close  Mr.  Eldredge  denounced  some 
things  said  about  the  democratic  party  as  lies.  Mr.  Codding  declared 
his  readiness  to  stand  by  all  he  had  said.  The  result  was  some  bitter 
talk,  something  of  a  row  and  nearly  a  general  fight.  But  Edward 
Pier,  Edwin  A.  Brown  and  a  few  others  stopped  it.  This  incident 
shows  how  bitter  the  political  feeling  was  just  before  the  war. 

First  County  Surveyor. 

Horace  W.  Newton,  now  doing  daily  service  in  the  register's 
office  at  the  court  house,  was  the  first  surveyor  of  Fond  du  Lac  county, 
being  elected  in  the  fall  of  1848.  He  is  a  son  of  the  pioneer.  Squire 
Newton,  and  was  22  years  of  age  when  elected  surveyor.  As  showing 
the  perfection  he  has  arrived  at  in  the  education  of  his  hands  as  well 
as  brain,  it  may  be  here  stated  that  ten  years  ago  he  wrote  the  Lord's 
Prayer  with  a  pen  on  a  space  the  size  of  a  ten-cent  piece  and  had  one- 
third  of  the  space  left,  and  if  you  would  see  some  of  the  prettiest 
writing  ever  put  in  a  record  book,  ask  to  see  some  of  his  work  at  the 
court  house. 

Vote  on  Negro  Suffrage. 

In  the  fall  election  of  1857,  a  vote  was  taken  on  a  proposition 
that  shows  something  of  the  feeling  then  in  the  public  mind  on  the 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  259 

slavery  question.  The  legislature  of  the  previous  winter  directed 
that  a  vote  be  taken  on  the  question  of  the  extension  of  suffrage  to 
colored  people.  The  vote  in  Fond  du  Lac  county  was  1,931  for  and 
1,865  against,  a  majority  of  sixty-six  for  extension.  The  proposition 
was  carried  in  the  state  by  a  large  majority.  But  actual  suffrage  was 
not  given  the  negro  until  the  adoption  of  the  fourteenth  amendment 
to  the  constitution  in  1863.  The  vote  given  here  was  taken  merely 
to  show  congress  the  feeling  of  the  people  on  the  subject, 

A  Mistaken  Survey. 

The  reader  has  no  doubt  often  noticed  the  jog  in  Marr  street, 
between  First  and  Sheboygan  streets.  This  was  occasioned  by  an 
error  in  the  original  survey.  Until  1861,  the  street  was  closed,  that 
north  of  the  jog"  being  known  as  \A''ingate  street  and  that  south  as 
Marr.  In  1861  the  city  ordered  it  opened  as  we  have  it  now,  and  it 
became  Marr  street  through  to  Merrill,  Wingate  street  being  abol- 
ished. The  faulty  survey  also  made  the  jog  still  existing  at  the 
corner  of  First  and  Portland  street,  and  threw  the  Commercial 
National  Bank  corner  five  and  a  half  feet  into  First  street. 

Anniversary  of  a  Printer. 

Thursday,  August  24,  marked  the  fifty-fifth  anniversary  of  the 
arrival  of  A.  T.  Glaze,  one  of  Wisconsin's  pioneer  newspapermen,  in, 
Fond  du  Lac.  He  came  to  this  city  from  Milwaukee  in  a  stage  coach 
pulled  by  four  horses.  The  mail  schedule  called  for  the  arrival  of  the 
coach  at  8  o'clock  in  the  evening,  but  the  trip  was  made  during  rainy 
weather  and  Mr.  Glaze  did  not  arrive  until  3  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

Mr.  Glaze  at  once  entered  the  office  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  Journal, 
following  the  printer's  trade  there  for  several  years.  In  1854,  four 
years  later,  the  Western  Freeman,  owned  by  J.  A.  Smith,  a  Quaker 
abolitionist,  and  the  Fountain  City  Herald,  owned  by  Royal  Buck, 
were  consolidated  and  the  newspaper  was  called  The  Commonwealth. 

Mr.  Glaze  made  up  the  forms  for  the  first  issue  of  The  Common- 
wealth and  printed  the  paper  on  a  hand  press.  He  continued  to  work 
in  the  office  until  i860,  when  he  took  charge  of  the  job  office  of  his 
uncle,  Edward  Beeson. 

Reporter  Established. 

In  1862,  John  Beeson,  a  son  of  Edward  Beeson,  found  it  impossi- 
ble on  account  of  his  health,  to  continue  his  work  in  school  and  he 
sought  employment  where  he  hoped  it  would  benefit  his  physical 
condition.  His  father  had  a  large  quantity  of  type  in  the  office  that 
had  been  used  in  supreme  court  work,  and  as  there  was  little  use  for 
this  at  the  time  the  son  left  school,  they  decided  to  start  another 
paper.  This  new  paper  was  The  Reporter.  Mr.  Glaze  made  up  the 
first  form  of  this  paper  and  the  first  issue  was  run  off  on  a  hand  press 
by  him.  He  also  founded  the  Ripon  Commonwealth  in  1864, 
so  it  will  be  seen  that  he  established  three  newspapers  in  Fond  du 
Lac  county  by  making  the  first  forms  and  running  the  first  issues. 
All  three  of  these  papers  are  now  thriving,  the  first  two  being 
changed  to  dailies  years  ago. 


260  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

He  still  continues  to  take  an  active  interest  in  newspaper 
work  and  frequently  visits  the  local  plants.  He  has  not  given  up 
writing,  although  his  health  does  not  permit  him  to  keep  at  the  grind 
as  he  did  years  ago. 


Struck  by  Epidemics. 

It  is  probably  remembered  by  few  people  now  living,  that  Fond 
du  Lac  had  a  short  season  of  cholera.  It  was  in  the  fall  of  1856,  and 
for  the  size  of  the  city  at  the  time,  it  may  be  said  that  many  died, 
and  many  had  it  who  recovered.  Among  the  latter  was  C.  H.  Benton, 
E.  Perkins,  Thos.  W.  Dee  and  Geo.  Driggs.  A  number  of  families 
suffered  much.  The  disease  was  first  recognized  as  Asiatic  Cholera 
by  Dr.  Walker,  and  the  physicians  of  the  city  held  private  consulta- 
tion to  determine  what  was  best  to  be  done,  so  as  not  to  frighten  the 
people  and  keep  country  people  from  coming  to  town  to  trade. 
Among  other  things  the  newspaper  men  promised  to  say  nothing 
alarming.  It  first  appeared  in  August  and  lasted  until  the  weather 
became  cold.  Dr.  Patchen  and  Dr.  Raymond  thought  the  disease 
was  an  aggravated  form  of  Cholera  Morbus,  but  the  other  doctors 
said  it  was  genuine  cholera.  At  any  rate  it  was  fortunate  that  it 
started  in  so  late  in  the  year. 

In  1 861,  Fond  du  Lac  had  an  epidemic  of  typhoid  fever,  and  again 
was  it  fortunate  that  it  started  late  and  ended  as  the  cold  weather 
came  on.  It  appeared  in  many  prominent  families.  It  was  in  a  very 
aggravated  form  and  the  doctors  had  a  hard  time  of  it  as  well  as 
their  patients.  We  have  occasionally  had  some  typhoid  fever  since, 
but  nothing  like  as  many  cases  or  so  severe. 

About  the  same  time,  but  it  is  said  by  those  who  ought  to  know, 
that  it  was  in  1859  that  a  spotted  fever  appeared,  but  was  late  and 
soon  stamped  out.  There  were  not  very  many  cases,  but  they  all  died 
but  two,  the  survivors  being  Mrs.  Jane  Ann  Ward  and  Mrs.  A.  T. 
Glaze,  both  young  ladies  at  the  time. 

From  earliest  times  Fond  du  Lac  has  been  singularly  free  from 
smallpox.  There  have  been  a  few  cases  at  times,  but  not  in  any 
sense  epidemic. 


Large  Number  of  Deeds. 

It  will  interest  some  people  and  maybe  surprise  others,  to  learn 
that  the  late  B.  F.  Moore,  an  1841  pioneer  of  this  county,  during  his 
sixty-four  years'  residence  here,  executed  a  greater  number  of  deeds 
of  real  estate,  which  went  on  record  in  the  Register's  ofiice.  than  any 
other  man  here.  Abstract  office  books  show  a  total  of  about  1,400. 
Besides  other  business  he  handled  real  estate  almost  from  the  begin- 
ning of  his  life  here,  and  especially  after  moving  from  Taycheedah  to 
Fond  du  Lac  in  1846.  He  was  very  liberal  with  pioneers  with  small 
means,  who  desired  to  secure  homes  and  sold  much  property  to  such 
people. 


OLD  TIME  RECORDS 


The  Place  to    Find  Interesting  Records  of  Early  Times  is  in  the  Old 
Record   Books   in  the   Vaults   at  the   Court   House. 


AH  of  the  county  officers,  except  perhaps  the  District  Attorney, 
carries  in  the  vaults  of  his  office,  old  books  containing  much  that  is 
interesting  to  the  young  as  well  as  the  old.  In  granting  the  request 
of  a  visitor  to  the  county  clerk's  office  at  the  court  house  a  few  days 
ago,  County  Clerk  Alfred  S.  Wilkinson  withdrew  the  book  recording 
the  meetings  of  the  first  county  board  from  one  of  the  shelves  in  the 
vault  in  his  office.  This  is  said  to  be  the  oldest  book  in  the  court 
house,  but  is  remarkably  well  preserved  in  spite  of  its  age. 

The  first  pages  in  the  minute  book  were  written  by  M.  C.  Darling, 
one  of  the  pioneer  residents  of  Fond  du  Lac  county  and  the  first 
county  clerk.  Wisconsin  was  then  a  territory,  the  first  board  of 
"commissioners"  organized  Oct.  7,  1839,  sixty-six  years  ago.  Then 
letters  "W.  T."  are  written  at  intervals  instead  of  the  "State  of  Wis- 
consin," which  is  now  seen  on  the  county  books. 

First  Meeting. 

The  record  of  the  first  meeting  of  the  county  board  reads : 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  county  board  of  commissioners  for  the 
county  of  Fond  du  Lac.  W.  T.,  held  at  the  Fond  du  Lac  house 
Monday,  October  7,  1839,  present,  Reuben  Simmons,  John  Bannister 
and  Edward  Pier,  commissioners  elect.  The  board  was  organized 
by  the  choice  of  Reuben  Simmons,  chairman,  and  the  appointment 
of  M.  C.  Darling,  clerk,  the  clerk  having  given  bonds  to  the  treasurer 
according  to  law.  The  said  county  commissioners  then  filed  in  the 
clerk's  office  their  oaths  of  office. 

"Ordered  that  the  county  treasurer  give  bond  in  the  sum  of 
$2,000  with  two  sufficient  sureties. 

"Ordered  that  $4.50  be  allowed  M.  C.  Darling  for  one  ream  of 
copy  paper  for  the  use  of  the  county. 

"Ordered  that  the  sum  of  $1.20  per  day  be  allowed  to  Colwert 
Pier,  Oscar  Pier  and  M.  C.  Darling  for  services  as  judges  of  election 
on  the  first  Monday  of  August,  last." 

The  board  at  the  first  meeting  made  arrangements  for  holding 
the  next  election  at  the  following  places : 

Calumetville,  residence  of  George  White  ;  Fond  du  Lac,  residence 
of  M.  C.  Darling;  Madrid,  residence  of  Seymour  Wilcox. 

Alexander  La  Bord,  Edward  Pier,  Colwert  Pier,  William  Arm- 
strong, Philo  Norton,  Lebbens  Heath,  B.  F.  Smith,  S.  Simmons  and 
George  White  were  the  election  clerks  and  judges  at  this  election. 


263  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Modest  Bills. 

One  of  the  bills  submitted  at  one  of  these  early  sessions  was  one 
submitted  by  M.  C.  Darling  "for  seven  days  self  and  horse  in  going 
to  Bay  to  attend  upon  board  of  clerks,  $i8."  The  "Bay"  referred  to 
was  Green  Bay,  which  was,  as  it  is  now,  commonly  referred  to  as 
"the  Bay." 

An  application  for  a  new  road  was  signed  bv  Oscar  Pier,  Albert 
Kendall,  A.  D.  Clark.  Milton  J.  Brainard,  M.  C.  Darling,  B.  F.  Smith, 
H.  J.  Peck,  Joseph  King,  Alonso  Raymond,  Patrick  Kelley,  Alfred 
Williams,  John  Wallis,  Luke  Labord,  G.  deNeveu,  John  Clevis, 
William  Labord,  Alexander  Labord,  David  Johnson.  Alva  Merton, 
Russell  Wilkinson  and  A.  L.  Simmons. 

Another  First  Meeting. 

The  first  account  of  the  board  meetings  after  Wisconsin  became 
a  state  on  May  29,  1848,  reads  as  follows: 

"The  county  board  of  supervisors  for  the  county  of  Fond  du  Lac 
assembled  at  the  court  house  in  said  county  at  the  above  date  agree- 
able to  the  requirements  of  an  act  entitled :  'An  act  to  provide  for 
the  levying  and  collecting  state  revenue/  and  were  called  to  order 
by  the  clerk  reading  the  act  requiring  the  meeting." 

The  Members. 

Those  who  answered  the  first  roll  call  of  the  board  of  supervisors 
after  Wisconsin  became  a  state,  were : 

Calumet — George  White. 

Taycheedah — Charles  Doty. 

Fond  du  Lac — Selim  Newton. 

Forest — Henry  Giltner. 

Auburn — James  Adams. 

Eden — Peter  Vandervoort. 

Byron — William  Stewart. 

Oakfield — James  Patterson. 

Lamartine — Peter  V.  Sang. 

Rosendale — Jonathan  Daugherty. 

Ceresco — David  Mapes. 

Springvale — Warren  Whiting. 

Metomen — H.  C.  Eggleston. 

Alto — Samuel  A.  Carpenter. 

Waupun — M.  Campbell. 

Eldorado— M.  J.   Barnett. 

This  particular  book  was  used  for  a  period  of  ten  or  more  years 
before  it  was  finally  put  away  to  become  a  part  of  the  archives  of  the 
ofifice.  The  binding  is  now  in  condition,  and  the  reading  is  very 
plain,  the  chirography  of  many  of  the  county  clerks  being  above  the 
average. 


E.  R.  Ferris  and  Sheeps'  Gray. 
In  an  early  day  E.  R.  Ferris  had  a  dry  goods  store  in  the  Drury 
block,  next  north  of  the  present  Amory  block.     Among  his  goods  he 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  263 

at  one  time  bought  a  lot  of  sheeps'  gray  cloth,  then  all  the  rage  for 
substantial  suits.  The  first  suit  sold  from  it  was  to  William  Hayes, 
sometimes  called  "Noisy  Bill,"  because  he  seldom  failed  to  fill  up 
when  he  came  to  town.  A.  H.  Clark  made  the  suit  for  Hayes,  but 
did  not  like  to  spoil  Ferris'  trade  by  telling  him  how  poor  it  was, 
but  he  soon  discovered  it  and  sent  word  to  Ferris  that  as  soon  as  it 
was  warm  enough  for  him  to  get  out  of  the  house,  he  would  be  down 
to  see  about  it.  Other  suits  were  sold,  all  of  which  showed  the  cloth 
to  be  the  poorest  shoddy,  and  it  was  returned  to  Chicago.  But  as 
to  the  Hayes  suit — he  had  worn  it  at  rough  work,  and  when  brought 
to  Ferris  was  in  rags.  Just  how  the  settlement  resulted  is  not  now 
remembered,  but  it  was  in  a  way  to  stop  Hayes'  loud  talk,  as  Ferris 
made  it  part  of  the  contract. 


An  Early  Days'  Worker. 

Alexander  Hamilton  Clark,  so  well  known  to  all  the  old  settlers 
as  "Ham  Clark,"  father  of  L.  H.  Clark  and  Mrs.  Ed.  Kent,  of  this 
city,  was  in  early  times  a  farmer  and  land  breaker  from  necessity,  an 
inventive  mechanic  from  innate  skill,  a  tailor  by  trade,  a  fine  violinist 
from  taste  and  a  gentleman  by  nature.  He  could  put  in  his  spare 
time  on  the  farm,  break  land  with  six  or  eight  yokes  of  oxen,  work 
with  tools  at  the  bench,  make  a  suit  of  clothes,  play  the  violin  for  a 
dance,  or  attend  a  reception  with  equal  facility.  He,  with  his  violin, 
Jerome  Gibson  with  his  clarinet  arid  Hutchins  with  his  horn,  were 
favorites  for  dancing  music,  and  they  played  for  the  club  parties  in 
the  Marshall  block  several  winters,  where  the  contract  was  that  if 
midnight  came  with  a  set  ofT  the  floor,  they  were  to  quit,  however 
strong  was  the  teasing  for  just  one  more.  If  a  set  was  on  the  floor 
at  midnight,  they  were  to  complete  it  and  then  quit.  Injurious  late 
hours  was  thus  avoided  and  the  parties  were  a  great  success  and 
satisfactory  to  all.     Ham  Clark  was  a  favorite,  as  he  deserved  to  be. 


Lake  deNeveu  Outlet. 

The  outlet  of  Lake  deNeveu,  on  the  west  shore,  was  riot  always 
the  insignificant  stream  that  it  is  now.  The  water  once  poured  out 
in  sufiricient  volume  to  form  a  lively  brook.  Sufficiently  large,  anyhow, 
to  nearly  drown  Geo.  P.  Dana,  the  present  day  hardware  merchant, 
when  he  was  a  small  boy  living  with  his  parents  on  the  Macy  farm. 
He  on  that  occasion,  was  pulled  into  the  water  by  a  pet  deer. 


An  Early  Planing  Mill. 

John  Bonnell,  assisted  by  C.  Z.  Gordon,  late  of  Oakfield,  had  an 
early  day  planing  mill  not  far  from  where  the  water  works  pumping 
station  is  now.  This  mill  was  of  great  assistance  to  the  early  house 
builders  in  the  preparation  of  lumber  for  use.  For  that  early  time, 
the  work  was  well  done  and  the  mill  was  kept  going  more  than  the 
usual  number  of  hours  per  day.  It  could  often  be  heard  going  at  lo 
o'clock  at  nieht. 


264  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Period  of  Hoop  Skirts. 

It  was  early  in  the  sixties  that  the  women  began  to  wear  hoop 
skirts,  but  it  was  not  until  1865  that  the  extreme  in  size  was  reached, 
of  117  inches  in  circumference  or  a  little  more  than  a  yard  in  diameter 
for  the  average  sized  woman.  And  at  the  time  there  were  extremists 
in  this  as  there  always  is  in  other  things,  and  women  were  often  seen 
with  skirts  even  considerable  larger  than  this.  To  reach  these  ex- 
tremes they  used  rattans  and  made  their  own  skirts  much  larger  than 
were  kept  in  the  stores.  And  they  were  often  at  the  extreme  too,  in 
stiffness,  and  had  to  be  tilted  as  the  wearer  entered  a  church  pew. 
A  lady  would  be  horrified  now  with  a  stiff  skirt  more  than  a  yard  in 
diameter,  but  they  were  just  the  thing  then.  A  skirt  properly  pro- 
portioned as  to  size  with  elastic  steel  springs,  was  very  pretty  and  no 
one  would  object  to  their  coming  again,  which  they  are  liable  to  do 
at  any  time.  The  extremes  is  what  one  dislikes  and  is  not  slow  to 
express  the  hope  that  they  be  permanently  retired. 


A  Simple  Matter  of  Sense. 

Judge  Campbell  McLean  and  D.  R.  Curran  were  democrats,  the 
latter  of  the  old  school  and  very  rigid,  but  McLean  was  very  much 
inclined  to  VanBurenize  in  1848  and  become  a  Free  Soiler.  The  two 
men  were  very  warm  personal  friends,  but  occasionally  had  disputes. 
]\IcLean  liked  to  say  sharp  things  and  to  spring  jokes  and  Curran's 
opinions  when  once  formed,  were  as  unchangeable  as  the  laws  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians.  In  the  election  of  1852,  Pierce  and  King  against 
Scott  and  Graham,  the  free  soil  matter  was  much  discussed.  One 
evening  in  Curran's  drug  store,  both  men  became  impatient  and 
McLean  sang  out,  "Look  here,  Dave,  why  in  thunder  don't  you  get 
a  little  more  sense  in  your  head — you  can  if  you  try."  Curran  re- 
plied, "But  you  can't  get  any  more  into  your  head  if  you  try  ever  so 
hard." 


Macy  Street  Changes. 

Macy  street  from  Second  street  to  the  court  house,  was  once  a 
quite  respectable  street.  On  the  west  side  of  Macy  were  several  quite 
respectable  houses  for  the  times.  In  the  house  on  the  corner  where 
a  shop  is  now,  was  the  family  of  Mr.  W'heeler,  next  north  the  family 
of  Solon  G.  Dodge,  while  he  was  Register  of  Deeds,  and  Rev.  W. 
L.  Mather,  pastor  of  Plymouth  Church.  A  man  whose  name  is 
forgotten,  lived  in  the  next  house,  then  the  largest  on  the  street,  but 
it  was  soon  moved  away  to  give  place  to  a  large  shop  erected  on  the 
corner  by  R.  M.  &  Asa  Pierce.  Later  all  these  gave  place  to  the 
lumber  yard.  On  the  east  side  of  the  street  were  two  houses,  one  of 
them  occupied  by  William  Hope,  father  of  the  late  George  Hope. 
These  two  houses  and  the  barn  of  the  Windsor  House,  was  all  there 
was  on  the  east  side  and  all  north  of  the  barn,  in  1859,  gave  place  to 
the  gas  works,  and  the  houses  on  the  west  side  were  immediately 
vacated.     North  of  Second  street,  Macy  was  no  street  at  all. 


SUCCESSFUL  EFFORT 


An  Address  Given  at  the  Meeting  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Club,  August 
30,  1905,  by  Mrs.  Edgar  Wilcox,  of  Oakfield. 


Ancestral  worship  is  not  greatly  in  vogue  with  the  average 
American.  The  self-made,  self-sufhcient.  and  self-satisfied  man  is 
much  more  in  evidence.  Even  the  scanty  and  infrequent  praise, 
which  we  bestow  upon  those,  who  earlier  or  later,  bore  the  heaviest 
burdens  and  did  the  roughest  work  of  founding  a  new  nation,  state, 
county  or  township,  is  apt  to  terminate  with  something  of  the  Phar- 
isee's form  of  gratitude.  It  may  be  only  a  mental  reservation,  but 
we  are  conscious  of  being  glad  that  we  are  not  as  the  pioneer. 

The  organization  of  which  we  are  members  or  guests  today, 
might  be  supposed  to  have  in  it  at  least  an  element  of  that  reverence 
for  the  former  things  with  the  lack  of  which  we  are  so  often  charged. 
And  doubtless  it  has.  But  no  mere  recognition  of  results  will  be 
sufficient  to  inspire  us  with  veneration.  We  must  look  deeper  than 
this.  Perhaps  mere  gratitude  towards  those  whose  privations,  hard- 
ships and  labors  obtained  for  us  not  merely  comfort  and  plenty,  but 
abundance  and  luxury  might  be  a  sufficient  motive  for  this  effort  to 
keep  fresh  the  memory  of  them.  The  noblest  of  heroes  are  those  who 
live  and  die  unconscious  of  their  heroism  and  the  appeal  of  the  noble 
dead  is  a  strong  and  pathetic  one.  But  one  thinks  of  man}-  things  in 
these  days  when  privilege  is  so  great  and  self-questioning  is  inevi- 
table. Their  choice  was  limited ;  ours  is  greater.  Are  we  choosing 
wisely?  The  main  value  of  all  praise  or  blame,  even  for  the  living, 
much  more  for  the  dead,  lies  in  its  reactionary  effect  upon  ourselves. 
Therefore  it  is  wiser  for  us  to  forget  all  that  is  base  and  worthless 
and  remember  only  that  which  is  noble  and  worthy. 

From  a  material  point  of  view,  it  is  not  difficult  to  make  note  of 
much  for  which  we  are  primarily  indebted  to  the  pi6neer.  The 
wilderness  has  become  a  garden.  The  corduroy  roads  traversed  by 
the  clumsy  oxen  and  clumsier  cart,  have  been  transformed  into 
smooth  highways,  fitted  for  the  automobile  and  pony  carriage.  Log 
cabins  and  board  shanties  have  made  way  for  many  roomy  and  com- 
fortable and  some  elegant  and  luxurious  homes.  The  wretched 
animals  crouching  under  straw  stacks,  through  the  bitter  cold  of  a 
Wisconsin  winter  night,  have  been  replaced  by  well-kept  and  high 
blooded  cattle  that  scarce  know  a  discomfort  in  their  warm,  clean, 
and  well-ventilated  stables.  If  we  do  not  vie  with  the  Holland 
dairymen  by  tying  the  cows'  tails  with  blue  ribbons  and  decorating 
the  window  sills  of  their  apartments  with  pots  of  blooming  geraniums, 
we  can  only  say — the  end  is  not  yet. 

While  none  of  us  would  affect  to  despise  any  of  these  marks  of 
progress,  we  should  not  forget   that  a  yet  richer  legacy  awaits  our 


266  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

acceptance.  We  possess  not  alone  the  dearly  bought  estates  of  our 
fathers,  but  we  of  this  day,  in  any  part  of  our  favored  land,  are  the 
heirs  of  the  ages.  The  rapid  march  of  civilization,  and  the  legislation 
of  a  paternal  government,  have  carried  us  close  to  the  treasures  of 
the  past  as  well  as  of  the  present.  A  fraction  of  the  energy,  self- 
denial  and  privations  which  felled  the  forests,  bridged  the  streams 
and  made  firm  paths  across  our  prairies,  will  unlock  for  us  the  world's 
storehouses  of  art,  of  science  and  of  literature.  Are  we  content  with 
enough  of  material  goods?  Are  we  giving  our  leisure  to  the  acquisi- 
tion of  mental  and  spiritual  wealth?  The  old  settlers  were  industrious 
and  frugal,  perforce,  possibly.  The  get-rich-quick  schemes  and  The 
Associated  Charities  are  of  later  date.  Are  we  practicing  the  same 
virtues  because  thus  we  may  render  our  homes,  our  neighbors,  our 
church  and  our  country,  the  larger  service.  Circumstances  do  not 
so  narrow  our  lives.  Are  we  enjoying  our  liberty  on  making  our- 
selves slaves  to  custom  and  fashion? 

The  pioneer  had  faith,  at  least,  the  faith  of  Columbus,  that  there 
was  land  west  of  him.  And  he  pushed  on,  like  the  illustrious  dis- 
coverer, in  spite  of  discouraging  words  and  often  in  the  face  of 
difficulties,  scarcely  less  appalling  than  those  which  the  early 
navigators  encountered.  Almost  as  trackless  as  the  ocean  were 
forest  and  prairie.  All  this  is  changed  for  us  and  the  homeseekers 
in  the  yet  untamed  regions  of  our  land,  are  transported  in  swift  and 
comfortable  coaches,  with  reduced  rates  as  an  inducement.  But  are 
there  no  social  complexities,  no  waste  moral  regions,  which  puzzle 
and  alarm?  Do  we  ever  turn  away  from  the  fascinating  romance  or 
charming  pictvire  words  of  the  cultured  and  witty  traveler  to  con- 
sider the  horrors  of  child  labor,  the  soul  of  black  folk,and  the  grinding 
slavery  of  the  unskilled  workwoman?  On  having  considered  these 
things,  do  we  at  suitable  times  and  in  suitable  places  speak  our  con- 
victions without  fear  of  the  consequent  odium?  Or  are  we  more 
concerned  about  the  cheapness  of  products  or  the  question  of  personal 
popularity?     If  so,  are  we  maintaining  the  faith  of  our  fathers? 

The  courage  with  which  the  pioneer  faced  the  red  man,  miasma, 
drouth  and  forest  fires  seems  almost  like  the  fearlessness  of  ignor- 
ance. But  it  will  be  remembered  that  few,  comparatively,  made 
voluntary  retreat.  The  reservations  hold  the  Indians  now  and  the 
hard  and  patient  labors  of  years  have  largely  diminished  the  danger 
from  fires  and  unsanitary  conditions.  But  we  have  graft,  the  ward 
boss  and  the  political  machine,  and  who  is  equal  to  these  things? 
We  do  exhibit  fortitude  worthy  of  a  better  cause  under  the  exactions 
of  the  monopolist  and  the  outrages  of  the  stricken,  but  the  courage 
which  opposes,  and,  by  opposing,  ends  them,  is,  mainly,  (not  alto- 
gether) conspicuous  by  its  absence. 

Unselfishness,  pure  and  simple,  is  a  virtue  so  rare  that  it  is  not 
safe  to  predicate  it  of  any  entire  class.  But  those  who  lay  the  foun- 
dations on,  while  others  may  build,  do  in  efifect  illustrate  this  most 
lovable  quality.  In  truth  they  may  have  labored  only  in  their  own 
behalf,  and  in  occasional  instances  may  have  enjoyed  long  the  fruits 
of  their  labors,  and  if  we  know  them  by  that  most  sincere  of  compli- 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  10  THE  PRESENT  267 

ments,  imitation,  we  shall  be  mindful,  in  the  superstructure  which  we 
rear,  not  only  of  ancestral  worth,  but  of  the  highest  good  of  coming 
generations.  If  their  beneficence  was  in  a  measure  forced,  ours  must 
be  conscious  and  voluntary  and  greater.  No  man  can  live  to  himself 
alone,  and  we  are  not  up  to  the  standard  if,  with  our  enlarged  oppor- 
tunity and  multiplied  leisure,  we  are  even  trying  to  do  so.  The 
social  life,  the  open-handed  hospitality  of  the  early  settlers,  has  been 
much  lauded.  Surely  in  all  but  its  spirit  it  left  much  to  be  desired. 
But  it  is  the  spirit  which  giveth  life.  If  in  the  skillful  entertainment 
of  our  guests  we  have  lost  that  genuine  love  of  their  presence,  we 
have  missed  the  finest  touch  of  the  social  act.  If  this  becomes  a  mere 
exchange  of  pasteboard  and  bonbons,  and  social  events  shall  be,  aptly 
as  they  are  hideously  termed,  functions,  then  surely  we  are  progress- 
ing backward. 

The  pioneer  was  neither  a  mediaevalist  nor  an  anarchist.  He 
lived  necessarily  the  simple  life,  and  the  rules  pertaining  thereto  were 
often  enforced  without  the  consent  of  the  ruled.  As  in  other  respects 
where  he  had  no  choice,  the  highest  value  of  such  a  life  may  not  have 
been  his,  but  to  some  of  its  rewards  he  did  fall  heir.  The  educational 
and  religious  institutions  of  the  more  distant  past  were  re-established 
in  the  earliest  days  of  new  settlements,  and  many  of  the  philanthropic 
and  benevolent  enterprises  of  the  present  were  given  by  him  good 
countenance  and  substantial  aid. 

In  many  works  we  have  today  a  far  different  outlook.  Life  is 
apparently  a  more  complex  matter;  its  necessary  simplicity  has  van- 
ished, and  it  may  some  time  be  our  duty  to  disentangle  ourselves 
from  the  conventional,  to  tear  away  disguises,  to  expose  chains,  to 
act  upon  the  principle  that  in  morals,  as  in  mathematics,  the  shortest 
distance  between  any  two  points  is  measured  on  the  straight  line 
which  joins  them. 

It  has  sometimes  been  said  by  the  better  natured  of  our  foreign 
critics,  that  while  we  had  neither  art,  literature  nor  history,  we  were 
partly  excusable  from  lack  of  time.  We  were  so  new.  But,  fortu- 
nately, or  unfortunately,  that  excuse  is  fast  failing  us — not  because 
our  critics  have  made  any  mistakes  in  their  dates,  but  because,  like 
that  of  the  youngest  child  of  a  large  family,  our  babyhood  has  been 
much  enriched  by  the  garnered  wisdom  of  our  elder  brothers  and 
sisters,  and  our  wits  sharpened  by  the  conversation  of  those  more 
mature.  These,  too,  with  rare  discretion,  deferred  their  petting  until 
the  youngest  of  the  nations  was  fairly  on  its  feet.  We  can  no  longer 
truthfully  say  that  we  fight  for  an  existence.  Are  we  aiming  to  put 
into  the  fabric  of  our  state  those  principles  of  universal  education, 
religious  principle  and  strict  equity  which  were  once  proclaimed  as 
its  foundation  stones?  Is  the  republic  to  be  a  republic  or  an  olig- 
archy? Are  we  vigilant  of  the  rights  of  others  as  well  as  of  our  own? 
Do  we  remember  that  Spartan  fortitude  was  the  result  only  of 
Spartan  discipline?  Are  we  giving  to  the  stranger  within  our  gates 
the  freedom  and  the  justice  our  revered  ancestors  claimed  for  them- 
selves and  for  their  posterity?  If  we  are  practicing  the  same  virtue 
by  which  our  heritage  was  won,  we  are  making  good  our  claim  to  all 


268  ■  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 

its  rank  and  power.  But  not  for  long^  can  we  make  those  principles 
a  neglected  factor,  and  yet  call  high  heaven  to  witness  that  we  are 
and  of  right  ought  to  be,  the  most  favored  nation  on  earth.  Have  we 
any  doubt  of  this?  History  repeats  itself,  and  the  panorama  of  the 
nations  of  all  time  is  unrolled  upon  her  pages.  Some  illustrations 
of  what  may  be  our  fate  are  so  familiar  as  to  need  but  slight  allusion. 

The  beauty-loving  Greek  has  long  been  a  theme  for  poets  and 
rhapsodists,  and  his  graceful  marbles  will  never  cease  to  be  admired. 
But  when  he  made  gods  of  his  graven  images,  neglected  the  discipline 
which  had  made  him  strong,  and  the  careful  self-culture  which  had 
made  him  master  of  craft  and  art,  he  fell  from  his  high  estate.  When 
the  spirit  of  caste  had  nurtured  envy,  and  oppression  hate ;  when 
luxury  had  enervated  its  votaries  and  drained  the  life  blood  of  its 
victims,  the  work  of  the  foreign  foe  was  easy,  and  men  said,  "How 
strange."     But  we  say  it  no  more. 

The  Romans  were  a  ruder  race,  but  so  long  as  they  maintained 
even  a  rough  justice  toward  their  own  countrymen,  regarded  as 
sacred  the  rights  of  Romans  and  fought  for  the  common  glory  of  the 
Roman  nation,  they  were  invincible  alike  against  the  cultured  and 
powerful  and  the  savage  tribes  and  nations  that  hemmed  them  in  on 
every  side.  But  when  Rome  said,  'T  am  mistress  of  the  world,"  the 
canker  of  pride  began  to  eat  at  her  vitals.  When  her  emperors  and 
nobles  maintained  their  state  and  splendor  through  her  enslavement 
of  her  citizens  and  her  laborers,  she  had  yielded  the  secret  of  her 
power.  Then  Goth  and  Visigoth,  Vandal  and  Hun  might  roam  at 
will  through  her  marble  palaces,  stable  their  horses  beside  her  altars 
and  pluck  the  beards  of  her  haughty  senators. 

The  great  empire  of  Charlemagne  fell  to  pieces  in  the  hands  of 
his  degenerate  sons,  and  probably  today  the  average  Frenchman 
could  not  name  the  territories  where  their  great  hero  once  held  sway. 
Does  the  comparison  seem  a  fanciful  one,  or  the  thought  unsuited 
for  consideration?  Certainly  not  fanciful,  unless  the  centuries  have 
abrogated  the  law  of  cause  and  effect  and  it  is  no  longer  true  that 
whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  also  reap.  Not  irrelevant,  if 
we  are  a  part  of  the  whole.  "Mine  is  a  divine  right,  and  no  man  may 
gainsay  me,"  said  Charles  I,  of  England.  Not  alone  for  his  own  arro- 
gance, but  for  the  accumulated  wrongs  of  centuries  he  paid  the  pen- 
alty. "We  are  the  state,"  said  citizen  and  citizeness  of  France,  and  a 
howling  frenzied  mob  cheered  when  the  head  of  Louis  XIV  rolled  into 
the  basket.  The  world  has  been  long  in  learning  that  no  man — king 
or  peasant,  millionaire  or  day  laborer — has  any  right  which  is  not 
based  on  righteousness.  The  wisest  of  presidents,  the  most  learned 
counselors,  the  most  magnificent  commerce,  fleets  and  armies,  cannot 
preserve  the  honor,  the  integrity  and  the  power  of  a  republic.  We 
are  the  state.     And  such  as  we  the  state  will  be. 

Not  once  in  a  thousand  years,  with  blind  and  unreasoning  fury, 
to  burn,  to  tear  down,  to  pillage  and  to  murder,  but  always,  by  our 
individual  worth,  to  build  up,  to  guard,  to  cherish  and  to  enrich. 

We  cannot  be  atheists.  The  wonders  of  creation  forbid  that. 
We  cannot  forget  our  fathers.    Their  lives  are  too  closely  interwoven 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  269 

with  ours  for  that  to  be  possible.     And  if  we  are  not  loyal  to  our 
country — well,  we  could  not  discuss  such  a  possibility. 

I  know  of  no  finer  epitome  of  a  life  than  that  given  by  Madame 
De  Stael,  near  the  close  of  her  long  and  memorable  career.  A  woman 
whose  personal  fascinations,  intellectual  brilliancy  and  political  in- 
sight have  seldom  been  combined  in  one  person,  summed  up  all  she 
had  been  or  done  in  the  words,  "I  have  loved  my  God,  my  father  and 
my  country."     It  was  enough  for  her;  it  is  enough  for  us. 


An  Honest  Grocery  Man. 

It  has  often  been  said  that  all  grocery  dealers  were  not  honest, 
but  labored  hard  to  sell  what  goods  they  had,  regardless  of  customer 
and  circumstances.  This  may  have  been  true  in  the  years  past,  but 
it  was  not  true  in  all  cases.  There  was  at  least  one  man  in  the  grocery 
trade  in  Fond  du  Lac  who  had  the  reputation  generally  for  being 
strictly  honest  and  sold  his  goods  for  just  what  they  were.  He  always 
told  the  customer  of  the  situation  as  to  quality.  This  man,  when  not 
much  more  than  a  boy,  was  employed  in  the  grocery  store  of  Robert 
Wyatt,  then  on  West  Second  street.  He  learned  the  business  there 
and  afterwards  went  into  business  for  himself  on  Main  street,  in  the 
room  now  occupied  by  Miss  Tambke  and  the  Jenz  candy  store,  and 
was  in  business  there"  a  number  of  years.  This  man  was  Dennis 
Conley,  brother  of  our  present  well  known  grocer,  J.  W.  Conley,  who 
clerked  for  his  brother.  Dennis  Conley  died  some  years  ago,  and  in 
the  latter  years  of  his  life  was  in  poor  health.  He  at  least  left  a 
reputation  for  being  a  strictly  honest  grocer. 


An  Unfortunate  Shoemaker. 

"That's  what's  the  matter,"  was  the  characteristic  utterance  of 
John  Rottman,  and  who  of  the  old  timers  and  many  of  modern  times, 
have  not  heard  it  from  his  lips.  John  Rottman  was  the  best  natured 
German  shoemaker  ever  in  Fond  du  Lac.  He  had  considerable 
means,  had  a  very  good  business,  but  bad  habits  and  carelessness, 
besides  a  bad  marriage,  ruined  him.  He  had  hosts  of  friends,  but 
they  could  not  overcome  his  bad  habits  and  home  troubles,  and  the 
result  was  that  John  was  so  frozen  one  cold  night  on  his  way  home 
to  the  distant  east  end  of  Ninth  street,  that  he  died.  For  many  years 
before  he  died,  he  occupied  the  little  shop  on  East  Second  street,  near 
Main,  where  he  cobbled  himself  into  old  age.  John  Rottman  was 
altogether  too  good  natured.  He  signed  paper  for  his  friends  that 
cost  him  much  money,  and  from  good  circumstances  went  into 
poverty.  Still  he  was  always  good  natured  and  pleasant  to  callers. 
He  was  a  historical  character.  He  sat  on  his  little  shoe  bench  from 
morning  to  night,  a  most  industrious  citizen.  Like  many  others, 
industrious  but  wrong  guided. 


270  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Dr.  H.  B.  Dale  Practiced  Here. 

The  late  Dr.  H.  B.  Dale,  of  Oshkosh,  was  a  nephew  of  Dr.  T.  J. 
Patchen,  and  began  practice  here.  Dr.  Patchen  came  to  Fond  du  Lac 
in  1854  and  Dr.  Dale  came  a  year  later,  and  their  professional  card 
of  that  date  reads,  Drs.  Patchen  &  Dale,  Homeopathic  Physicians  and 
Surgeons.  Three  years  later  Dr.  Dale  went  to  Oshkosh,  spending 
the  remainder  of  his  life  there,  becoming  not  only  one  of  the  most 
noted  and  successful  physicians,  but  one  of  the  most  popular  citizens. 
For  many  years  he  was  superintendent  of  schools  of  that  city.  Mrs. 
Dale  was  Miss  Augusta  Olcott,  daughter  of  Q.  M.  Olcott,  one  of  the 
prominent  early  days'  lumbermen  of  Fond  du  Lac.  During  his  resi- 
dence here.  Dr.  Dale  became  a  very  popular  doctor  and  he  was  greatly 
missed  when  he  went  to  Oshkosh. 


Former  Fond  du  Lac  People. 

J.  H.  Spencer  will  be  remembered  by  all  older  citizens  as  a  dealer 
in  leather  and  shoemakers  and  harnessmakers  findings.  He  was  a 
noted  talker  and  for  many  years  was  the  leader  of  the  spiritualists. 
What  he  did  not  know  about  that  faith  it  was  not  worth  while  to  try 
to  find  out.  Mr.  Spencer  died  in  Chicago  in  1897,  at  the  age  of  90 
years.  His  son,  DeWitt  Spencer,  has  resided  in  Minneapolis  many 
years.  He  will  be  remembered  as  manufacturer  of  gloves  and  mittens 
and  of  Brown's  Blood  Purifier. 

Connected  with  the  Spencer  store  was  J.  W.  Hawes,  so  long  there 
as  to  be  almost  part  of  it.    He  died  here  many  years  ago. 


Fred  May  and  Homeing  Pigeons. 

Fred  May,  son  of  E.  M.  May,  well  known  to  all  old  residents, 
now  residing  on  the  banks  of  'Lake  Calhoun,  Minneapolis,  has  bred 
some  of  the  most  noted  Homeing  Pigeons  in  this  country.  On  July 
4th,  1905,  he  had  nine  birds  in  a  flight  of  six  hundred  miles,  and  every 
one  of  them  returned  home  safely,  the  first  in  thirteen  hours  and  the 
last  in  eighteen  hours  and  fifty  minutes.  Fred  ]\Iay  is  a  native  of  Fond 
du  Lac,  being  born  here  in  1870. 


An  Old  School  Darkey. 

"I  don't  want  to  interfere  to  cause  no  interruptions,"  was  a  re- 
mark made  by  "Uncle  Billy  Jones,"  when  Mrs.  Overton  asked  him  to 
call  for  her  boarding  house  garbage  which  another  darkey  had 
neglected.  At  this  time  "Uncle  Billy"  had  a  horse  and  wagon  and  did 
odd  jobs  about  town,  but  he  traded  himself  out  of  about  everything 
he  had,  and  the  last  years  of  his  life  he  was  an  indigent  old  beggar. 
He  was  one  of  the  slaves  brought  here  by  Elder  Rogers,  in  war  time 
from  Island  No.  10.  He  died  in  1900.  and  probably  everybody  within 
ten  miles  of  the  court  house  knew  Uncle  Billy  Jones. 


COURT  HOUSE  TALK 


The  Troubles  of  the   Old  Court  House  and  Evolution  of  the   Era. 
Some  Incidents  of  the  Time. 


The  Old  and  the  New. 

The  first  Fond  du  Lac  county  court  house  was  built  in  1848  and 
completed  ready  for  use  early  in  1850,  Isaac  Brown  being  the  con- 
■  tractor.  It  was  a  three-story  structure,  the  first  story  being  stone, 
the  others  wood.  It  was  40x90  feet  in  size  and  for  that  early  day  was 
a  fine  building.  The  lower  story  was  divided  by  a  hall,  the  north 
half  being  the  jail  and  the  south  half  was  used  as  a  dwelling  place 
for  the  jailor.  The  second  floor  was  made  into  rooms  for  the  county 
officers,  and  the  third  floor  was  the  court  room,  well  seated  and 
furnished.  The  building  was  surmounted  by  a  modest  steeple  and 
flag  staff.  After  a  few  years  the  county  board,  believing  the  records 
unsafe,  had  a  small  stone  building  erected  on  Court  street,  north  of 
the  court  house,  into  w^hicli  the  offices  of  the  register  of  deeds  and 
clerk  of  the  court  were  moved  and  remained  there  many  years. 
About  1868  the  agitation  began  for  a  new  court  house,  but  the  super- 
visors from  the  west  side  of  the  county,  fought  those  from  the  east 


272  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

side  on  the  proposition.  Finally  as  if  to  silence  the  argument  that  a 
new  and  safer  jail  was  needed,  a  new  jail  was  conceded,  the  land 
was  bought  on  Linden  street  and  the  jail  and  sheriff's  residence 
erected  as  we  see  them  today.  But  at  last  the  end  of  the  agitation 
was  reached,  for  in  1881,  after  a  service  of  thirty-three  years,  the 
court  house  burned  down.  The  postofifice  then  occupied  the  build- 
ing at  the  corner  of  Division  and  Macy  streets,  where  the  cold  storage 
building  now  is.  The  rooms  above  were  fitted  up  for  county  pur- 
poses and  the  court  room  continued  there  three  years.  At  the  session 
of  the  county  board  in  the  fall  of  1881,  a  building  commission  was  ap- 
pointed to  prepare  plans  for  a  new  court  house  and  attend  to  the 
preliminary  work.  In  1882  the  plans  were  adopted  and  the  con- 
tracts were  let.  The  progress  of  the  work  was  slow  and  it  was  not 
until  1884  that  the  building  was  completed  and  occupied.  The  little 
stone  building  on  Court  street  was  then  torn  away  and  a  general 
improvement  in  appearance  was  begun,  resulting  finally  as  we  see 
it  today.  The  building  and  its  surroundings  are  such  that  the  people 
of  the  county  are  well  pleased.  The  heat  from  the  fire  at  the  time 
the  court  house  was  burned,  took  away  three  or  four  of  the 
beautiful  trees.  We  were  once  proud  of  the  old  court  house  and  we 
are  proud  of  the  present  structure. 

But  three  county  officers.  Sheriff,  Register  and  Clerk  of  the 
Court,  occupied  offices  in  the  old  court  house  at  the  time  of  its  com- 
pletion, and  afterwards  these  three  moved  out,  the  Register  and 
Clerk  of  the  Court  into  the  stone  building  that  was  built  for  safety. 
Most  of  our  county  officers  have  occupied  rooms  about  town. 

Officers  at  time  of  completion  of  the  old  court  house,  were  as 
follows : 

Judge  of  Circuit  Court — Timothy  O.  Howe. 

Judge  of  County  Court — C.  E.  Tompkins. 

Sheriff — Francis  D.  McCarty. 

Register  of  Deeds — Nelson  Wood. 

County  Clerk — Chauncey  J.  Allen. 

Clerk  of  Court — Fayette  S.  Brown, 

County  Treasurer — Peter  V.  Sang. 

District  Attorney — I.  S.  Tallmadge. 

County  Surveyor — Lathrop  Ellis. 

Coroner — Alonzo  Raymond. 

The  county  officers  holding  official  positions  in  the  new  court 
house  fifty-five  years  later,  were : 

Judge  of  Circuit  Court — Norman  S.  Gilson. 

Judge  of  County  Court — George  Perkins. 

Sheriff — Frederick  Konz. 

Register  of  Deeds — Charles  B.  Bartlett. 

County  Clerk — Mark  Crain. 

Clerk  of  the  Courts — A.  E.  Richter. 

County  Treasurer — C.  F.  G.  Wernicke. 

District  Attorney — F.  F.  Duffy. 

County  Surveyor — Joseph  Haessley. 

Coroner — F.  F.  Parsons. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  273 

The  north  side  of  the  second  story  of  the  old  court  house  was 
divided  into  jury  rooms,  south  side  offices,  of  which  there  were  but 
three.  The  third  story,  or  court  room,  was  used  for  all  sorts  of  pur- 
poses besides  court.  Conventions,  caucuses,  church  services,  lectures, 
all  sorts  of  gatherings  were  held  there,  especially  in  the  first  few 
years  of  its  existence. 

"The  terms  of  court  were  held  in  the  school  house  at  Fond  du 
Lac,  until  it  was  burned.  The  local  paper,  in  speaking  of  the  fire, 
said  the  court  house  had  been  burned,  every  church  in  the  town  has 
been  consumed,  and  even  the  school  house  and  all  other  public 
buildings  here  have  shared  the  same  fate.  There  is  no  insurance  and 
the  loss  cannot  be  less  than  two  hundred  dollars. 

Old  Court  House  Yard. 

When  the  old  board  fence  was  built  around  the  court  house 
yard,  it  was  thought  to  be  a  nice  thing  and  quite  appropriate  to  what 
was  then  regarded  as  a  nice  court  house.  Then  the  old  sidewalk  of 
boards  was  removed  and  a  new  one  laid  with  the  plank  lengthwise. 
But  this  did  not  last  many  years  and  the  Sylvesters  furnished  the 
flagging  for  a  stone  walk  for  the  frost  to  heave  and  break  into  pieces, 
the  size  of  your  hand  to  a  side  of  sole  leather,  which  it  proceeded  to 
do.  Then  it  was  removed  and  thicker  stone  used,  which  lasted  much 
longer.  The  county  fairs  came  and  assisted  in  making  a  dilapidated 
fence  and  a  mud  hole  of  the  yard.  But  still  we  pointed  with  pride 
to  our  court  house  premises.  Then  the  small  office  building  began 
to  need  repairs,  but  at  an  opportune  time  the  old  court  house  took 
fire  and  was  burned.  Now  something  better  was  to  come  in  the  court 
house  of  today,  a  concrete  sidewalk,  a  well  kept  lawn  and  no  fence 
at  all.     Surely  we  have  improved  our  county  property. 

Court  House  and  County  Fairs. 

County  fairs  were  af  one  time  held  on  the  court  house  square 
and  the  old  court  house  made  use  of  for  the  exhibition  of  fruits, 
flowers,  grain  and  fancy  goods.  Panels  of  board  fencing  were  made  to 
surround  the  square  and  after  a  fair  had  been  held  and  the  fence  re- 
moved, it  was  a  most  sorry-  looking  place — didn't  have  much  the 
appearance  it  has  now.  The  last  time  it  was  attempted  to  hold  the 
fair  there,  it  was  a  failure  on  account  of  rain.  The  fence  panels  were 
piled  up  in  the  rear  of  the  court  house  and  disappeared  one  by  one, 
so  that  at  next  fair  time  very  few  were  left.  "Ike"  Orvis  said 'they 
were  put  out  there  close  to  the  street  as  an  invitation  to  those  going 
by  with  wagons  to  throw  on  one  or  more  and  help  abolish  a  public 
nuisance.  Anyhow  it  was  done  and  no  more  county  fairs  were  held 
ori  the  court  house  square.  The  next  fair  was  attempted  on  the 
Ingram  property  on  upper  Main  street,  then  an  open  field  for  some 
distance.  The  day  before  the  fair  was  to  begin,  a  rain  set  in  and  the 
water  came  down  in  torrents  steadily  for  three  whole  days.  A  more 
dismal  scene  was  never  witnessed  on  this  earth  than  was  that  fair 
ground  and  it  killed  the  county  fair  business  for  several  years.  No 
one  had  the  heart  to  try  it  again  until  sufficient  time  had  elapsed  to 


274  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

forget  about  that  fair  ground  scene.  O.  W.  Townsend  had  some 
pumps  there  and  said  he  did  not  need  to  incur  the  expense  of  hauling 
water  to  exhibit  them — there  was  plenty  right  there.  Jay  Roblee 
had  some  pigs  there  and  had  to  remove  them  by  another  route  on 
account  of  the  deep  mud.  Surely  it  was  one  of  the  county  fairs  to 
beget  lasting  disgust. 

Old  Court  House  Offices. 

When  the  old  court  house  was  completed  and  occupied  in  1850, 
it  was  regarded  as  a  quite  sleek  place.  For  proof  of  this,  talk  with 
J.  B.  Perry,  of  the  First  National  Bank,  who  was  one  of  the  first  in 
it  with  Register  of  Deeds  Nelson  Wood,  or  with  E.  A.  Carey,  who 
helped  Isaac  Brown  in  building  it.  But  there  was  thirty  years  of 
service  coming  to  it  before  it  was  to  be  wiped  out  by  fire,  and  in  that 
thirty  years  it  became  decidedly  rusty.  Its  appearance,  except  the 
court  room,  was  little  better  than  any  old  rookery,  unused  and  un- 
usable. It  was  thirty-four  years  from  the  time  of  its  being  completed 
until  a  new  structure  had  fully  taken  its  place,  an.d  that  is  a  long  time 
to  live  and  prosper  for  a  building  erected  as  cheaply  as  that  was. 
It  was  not  of  the  sort  to  last  like  the  pyramids.  It  served  its  purpose 
and  probably  long  enough. 

Saved  the  Court  House. 

The  county  board  of  supervisors  once  voted  one  hundred  dollars 
to  the  Fond  du  Lac  City  Fire  department  for  saving  the  old  court 
house  from  burning.  The  city  would  rather  have  paid  the  same 
amount  to  let  it  burn,  for  it  had  become  an  eye-sore.  Once  after 
that  it  was  complained  that  the  department  was  very  slow  in  getting 
there  because  they  wanted  it  to  burn,  and  maybe  it  was  true.  The 
country  members  of  the  board  did  not  want  to  build  a  new  court 
house  then. 


Something  About  Roads. 

The  first  road  through  this  settlement  was  opened  in  1836,  from 
Green  Bay  to  Fort  Crawford,  known  as  the  Military  Road,  though 
it  seems  to  have  small  claim  to  the  name  of  road.  The  streams 
which  were  otherwise  absolutely  impassable,  were  covered  with  poles 
laid  upon  fragile  foundations,  a  little  above  low  water  mark. 

Through  timbered  land  there  were  some  definite  marks  to  inform 
the  traveller  of  the  road's  locality ;  through  openings,  prairies  and 
marshes,  he  had  a  wide  field  for  selecting  his  route,  provided  he  could 
find  the  bridge  over  the  next  stream. 

This  was  the  general  state  of  the  roads  for  many  years.  In  1837 
and  '38  there  was  a  road  opened  from  Sheboygan.  In  the  fall  of 
1838  there  was  a  road  opened  and  bridged  to  Fox  Lake.  This  ro^d 
had  been  previously  surveyed  by  Mr.  Brower. 

In  the  winter  of  1839,  there  was  a  road  opened  by  way  of  Waupun 
to  Madison,  and  a  settlement  commenced  by  Mr.  S.  Wilcox,  at 
Waupun,  eighteen  miles  from  Fond  du  Lac,  and  one  at  Taycheedah 
by  F.  D.  McCarty  and  Reuben  Simmons.  In  1842  a  road  was  opened 
from  Fond  du  Lac  to  Milwaukee. 


IMPROVEMENT  COMPANY 


Great  Expectations  of  Early  Days'  People  Not  Realized.     The  Fox 
and  Wisconsin  Rivers  Improvement. 


The  Fox  and  Wisconsin  Rivers  Improvement  Company  struggled 
along  with  the  work,  but  the  income  was  not  sufficient  to  keep  things 
going  on  the  Lower  Fox,  and  the  dams  and  locks  went  into  decay. 
On  the  Upper  Fox  almost  nothing  was  done.  At  this  time  Fond  du 
Lac  lost  interest  in  the  work,  as  it  was  seen  that  it  would  never  be  of 
much  value  to  us.  In  1869,  a  scheme  was  arranged  to  sell  the  im- 
provement to  the  LTnited  States  government  and  it  was  announced 
that  the  sale  had  been  effected,  only  to  be  learned  later  on,  that  the 
government  had  in  reality  bought,  as  the  late  Charles  W.  Felker  ex- 
pressed it,  only  the  right  to  rebuild  the  rotted  out  dams  and  locks, 
and  this  it  did  between  the  years  1869  and  1879.  Comparatively  little 
has  been  done  in  the  last  twenty-five  years.  The  Lower  Fox  is  of 
some  value,  but  the  Upper  Fox  is  of  little  account.  The  work  on  the 
Wisconsin  river  is  of  still  less  value.  And  so  it  was  that  the  early 
days'  expectations  in  regard  to  this  water  way,  have  proven  almost 
a  failure. 

In  the  introduction  to  the  first  Fond  du  Lac  city  directory, 
printed  in  1857,  speaking  of  the  Fox  and  Wisconsin  Rivers  Improve- 
ment, Mr.  Bingham  says: 

Fond  du  Lac,  from  its  location  upon  Lake  Winnebago,  commands 
a  large  extent  of  water  communication.  Being  at  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  the  lake,  which  extends  into  a  fine  agricultural  country, 
it  is  a  natural  point  for  a  large  surrounding  country  to  meet  this 
water  communication.  It  is  connected  with  Lake  Michigan  and  the 
eastern  markets  by  the  Lower  Fox,  which  flows  from  the  foot  of  Lake 
Winnebago  into  Green  Bay,  and  with  the  Mississippi  country  by  the 
Upper  Fox  and  Wisconsin  rivers,  united  b}^  a  canal  of  about  two 
miles  in  length.  This  line  of  water  communication  has  been  known 
as  a  public  highway  since  Father  Marquette,  a  Jesuit  Missionary, 
first  passed  over  it,  starting  from  Green  Bay,  to  explore  the  upper 
Mississippi  in  1763.  This  water  course  through  a  fertile  and  unsur- 
passed agricultural  country,  naturally  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
first  settlers  of  the  state,  for  the  facilities  it  afforded  for  commerce, 
and  manufactures,  and  the  first  settlements  in  the  state  were  made, 
one  at  Green  Bay,  at  the  mouth  of  Fox  river,  and  the  other  at  Prairie 
du  Chieu,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin.  At  an  early  day  it  became 
apparent  to  the  settlers  of  this  country,  that  this  channel  of  communi- 
cation between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Great  Lakes  might,  without 
great  expense,  be  so  improved  as  to  become  a  great  highway  for 
commerce  through  a  rich  agricultural  country.  In  1838,  it  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  general  government,  and  Mr.  Poinsett,  Secretary 


276  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

of  War,  called  the  attention  of  congress  to  its  value  as  a  route  for 
military  communication  and  transportation,  and  urged  an  appropria- 
tion for  the  construction  of  locks  around  the  rapids  of  the  Lower  Fox, 
between  Lake  Winnebago  and  Green  Bay,  and  a  canal  to  unite  the 
rivers  at  Portage.  To  effect  this  object,  in  August,  1846,  congress 
granted  to  the  State  of  Wisconsin  alternate  sections  of  land  on  each 
side  of  the  Fox  river,  and  in  1848,  the  state  accepted  the  grant  and 
appointed  a  board,  which  were  charged  with  the  execution  of  the 
work.  The  Constitution  of  the  State  forbids  the  creation  of  any 
public  debts  ;  the  board  were  therefore  limited  in  their  expenditures 
to  the  receipts  from  the  sale  of  lands  granted  by  congress.  As  the 
population  of  Wisconsin  was  then  comparatively  small,  and  the  public 
lands  had  not  been  taken  up  by  settlers,  their  receipts  were  not 
sufficient  for  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  enterprise. 

On  the  6th  of  July,  1853,  the  legislature  transferred  the  remainder 
of  the  grant  and  all  the  works  of  improvement  to  an  association, 
consisting  of  Mason  C.  Darling  and  Benjamin  F.  Moore,  of  Fond  du 
Lac;  Otto  Tank,  Morgan  L.  Martin,  Edgar  Conklin,  Joseph  G.  Law- 
ton  and  Uriah  H.  Peak,  of  Green  Bay,  and  Theodore  Conkey,  of 
Appleton,  and  their  associates,  named  and  styled  the  "Fox  and  Wis- 
consin Improvement  Company,"  allowing  them  all  the  benefits  from 
the  unsold  lands  of  the  grant,  and  all  the  profits  of  the  work  when 
completed  (restricted  only  by  a  maximum  price  for  tolls),  on  condi- 
tion that  they  were  to  assume  all  the  indebtedness  and  liabilities  of 
the  state  incurred  in  the  prosecution  of  the  work,  and  were  to  com- 
plete the  same  within  a  given  time. 

We  who  have  lived  long  enough  to  see  results,  can  hardly 
suppress  a  smile  when  we  read  of  the  expectations  of  those  who  have 
preceded  us.  The  active  days  of  Captains  Sam  and  Ed  Neff,  Capt. 
Crawford,  Capt.  Knapp,  Capt.  Golden,  Capt.  Anson,  Capt.  Morley, 
Capt.  Ole  Olson,  Capt.  John  Lynch,  Tom  Wall  and  others,  have  gone 
from  these  waters  forever.  Nor  can  their  places  be  filled  by  others, 
as  there  is  no  demand  for  their  services.  The  water,  as  well  as  the 
men,  have  disappeared. 


Born  a  Mathematician. 

In  the  early  fifties  there  was  a  young  man  named  J.  M.  Sheffield 
in  Fond  du  Lac  and  clerked  in  the  drug  store  of  J.  R.  &  J.  W. 
Partridge.  He  was  a  very  quiet  young  man,  whom  few  knew  inti- 
mately, and  he  is  spoken  of  here  only  to  note  a  peculiarity  possessed 
by  him.  He  was  a  born  mathematician  and  could  work  out  questions 
in  that  science  with  remarkable  ease.  It  mattered  not  how  intricate 
the  problem  might  be  extending  to  geometry,  trigonometry,  or  even 
to  conic  sections,  it  did  not  seem  to  bother  Sheffield  very  much.  Com- 
plicated problems  in  figures  were  often  worked  out  by  him  without 
resort  to  slate  or  pencil  and  paper.  Men  about  town  often  tried  to 
bother  him  with  problems,  only  to  be  astonished  how  easily  and 
quickly  he  could  solve  them.     He  was  here  only  three  or  four  years. 


POLICE  DEPARTMENT 


Something  About  the  Police  Force  of  Fond  du  Lac  from  the  Earliest 
Times  to  the  Present.     Some  of  Those  Who  , 

Have  Served. 


In  the  earliest  times  of  Fond  du  Lac,  the  people  had  to  look  out 
for  their  own  protection,  and  this  was  really  the  situation  until  after 
we  became  a  city,  as  constables  were  of  not  much  real  use  as  public 
officers.  When  Fond  du  Lac  was  incorporated  as  a  village  in  1847, 
two  constables  were  elected,  and  this  continued  until  the  city  charter 
came  in  1852.  During  this  seven  ,years  we  had  George  Williams 
Carnii  Wright,  Joshua  Barnet,  George  Croft.  F.  D.  McCarty, 
Milford  Van  Dresar,  Charles  Van  Norder,  Forbes  Homiston 
and  others  as  contasbles,  but  to  do  police  duty  was  below 
the  dignity  of  their  office,  therefore  the  people,  as  a  rule,  seldom  called 
on  them  for  protection.  And  our  first  officers  under  the  city  govern- 
ment were  little  better.  Under  the  city  charter  this  officer  was 
known  as  City  Marshal,  but  he  had  no  assistants  unless  the  council 
saw  fit  to  give  him  help,  which  it  seldom  did,  so  that  if  he  was  fit  for 
the  office,  he  had  to  cover  too  much  ground  to  be  efficient. 

During  the  fourteen  3^ears  from  1852,  when  the  city  government 
began,  to  1866,  when  the  police  force  came  into  existence,  we  had  the 
following  City  Marshals : 

1852— C.  N.  Snell.  1860— B.  F.  Midgley. 

1853— F.  P.  Homiston.  1861— Charles  Van  Norder. 

1854— John  Case.  1SG2— John  Dobyns. 

1855—1.    W.    Bowen.  1863— John  Dobyns. 

1856— Daniel    Banks.  1864— John  Dobyns. 

1857— Charles    Arlin.  1865— Phillip  Zipp. 

1858— Charles   Arlin.  1866— Louis   Ladoux. 

1859— E.   S.   Hammond. 
The  legislature  abolished  the  office  in   1866  and  the  police  force 
came  into  existence.     Following  are  the  chiefs  of  police  since  that 
time : 

1867 — James   T.   Conklin.  1885 — John    Gill,    served   four   months. 

1868 — James' T.  Conklin.  1885 — Jos.  Como,  served  eight  months. 

1869— James  O'Connel.  1886- G.  A.   Kretlow. 

1870— L   N.  Welch.  1887— G.    A.   Kretlow. 

1871— L  N.  Welch.  1888— G.  A.  Kretlow. 

1872 — James    Swineford.  1889 — Barney  McDermotu 

1873 — James    Swineford.  1890 — Barney  McDermott. 

1874— Timothy    Hardgrove.  1891- Barney  McDermott. 

1875— G.    A.    Kretlow.  1892— H.  W.  Eaton. 

1876— G.  A.  Kretlow.  1893— Thos.  McGrath. 

1877— G.   A.  Kretlow.  1894— Sealy  O'Conor. 

1878— G.  A.   Kretlow.  1895— Sealy    O'Conor. 


278  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 

1879— G.  A.  Kretlow.  1896— Sealy  O'Conor. 

1880— G.  A.  Kretlow.  1897— Thos.   McGrath. 

1881— C.  F.  P.  Clough.  1898— Thos.   McGrath. 

1882— C.  F.  P.  Clough.  1899— Simon    Schaefer,   from   Jan.   1st. 

1883— G.  A.  Kretlow.  1900— Simon  Schaefer. 

1884 — G.  A.  Kretlow.  1901 — F.  A.  Nolan,  to  me  present  time. 

Dtiring  the  entire  period  of  the  City  Marshals,  there  was  no 
headquarters  other  than  the  rooms  where  the  common  council  met, 
which  were  also  the  city  clerk's  office.  As  previously  stated,  the 
Marshals  had  no  assistants  in  their  police  work  and  everything  was 
run  on  a  cheap  scale.  When  the  police  came  matters  were  changed 
a  little.  The  chief  of  police  had  two  policemen  with  headquarters. 
The  first  police  office  was  on  Division  street,  without  cells  and  other 
means  of  caring  for  prisoners.  These  had  to  go  to  the  county  jail, 
and  about  this  there  was  trouble,  as  the  county  wanted  pay  from  the 
city  for  care  of  their  local  wrong  doers.  Mayors  Patchen  and  Foster, 
in  the  early  seventies,  were  able  to  measure  the  situation,  and  the  first 
of  the  police  stations  came,  on  the  ground  where  the  present  station 
stands.  Under  the  guidance  of  James  Swineford,  as  chief  of  police, 
we  began  to  have  a  force  worthy  the  name  of  police. 

In  early  days,  a  small  wooden  building,  hardly  large  enough  for 
a  smoke  house,  located  on  Portland  street,  served  as  a  city  lock-up. 
It  had  no  cells,  or  its  single  apartment  might  have  been  called  one 
cell,  and  was  made  secure  by  weak,  wooden  shutters.  It  was  used 
only  for  the  incarceration  of  unfortunates,  who  had  become  so 
drunk  they  could  not  break  out  of  a  paper  house. 

In  1 866,  a  more  substantial  structure  of  brick,  with  cells  and 
apparatus  for  warmth,  was  erected  near  the  corner  of  Macy,  on  First 
street.  In  1878,  this  having  become  too  small  to  accommodate  the 
constantly  increasing  number  of  tramps,  or  wandering  vagrants,  and 
too  dilapidated  to  secure  criminals,  the  present  brick  and  stone 
structure  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $2,300  on  the  same  site.  It  is  two 
stories  high  with  six  single  and  four  double  cells,  and  a  commodious 
office  for  the  chief  of  police  and  police  headquarters. 

In  1904,  this  structure  was  further  irnproved  by  an  addition  to 
the  south  side,  containing  a  private  office  for  the  chief  of  police  and 
an  examination  room,  and  the  station  otherwise  improved  by  various 
changes.  This  building  is  used  merely  as  a  detention  prison  and  not 
for  persons  under  sentence..  It  is  probably  not  necessary  to  say  that 
these  rooms  are  not  provided  with  downy  couches  or  Morris  chairs 
and  a  person  so  unfortunate  as  to  get  in  there  might  possibly  prefer 
the  Erving  or  Palmer  House. 

In  the  old  times  when  a  political  pull  put  a  man  on  the  force,  no 
matter  what  his  age  or  how  infirm,  the  force  could  not  be  efficient. 
Some  of  the  policemen  of  twenty  years  ago,  would  make  sorry  work 
of  it  now.  Men  who  have  passed  to  55  or  60  years  of  age,  are  now 
cut  out  of  the  police  service  in  most  cities  and  under  civil  service 
rules  look  for  young,  strong,  healthy  men.  Police  service  is  very 
different  from  what  it  was  seventeen  years  ago.  In  the  detective 
service   specialties   are   worked.     There   are   safe   blowing   detectives, 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  279 

bank    robber    detectives,    train    robbing,    burglary,    pickpocket    and 
others,  and  they  give  attention  only  to  their  specialties. 

Previous  to  1885  the  common  cotmcil  each  spring  elected  the 
chief  and  policemen,  but  this  process  forced  old  and  unfit  men  upon 
the  force.  A  man  who  had  a  political  pull  strong  enough,  managed 
to  get  there,  fit  or  unfit.  In  1885,  the  law  was  changed  by  the 
creation  of  a  Board  of  Police  and  Fire  Commissioners  to  manage 
these  departments.  The  force  may  now  be  changed  at  any  time — it 
is  under  civil  service  rules,  and  while  there  is  sometimes  some  fric- 
tion, things  go  on  better. 


Well  Known  and  Wealthy. 

All  citizens  of  Fond  du  Lac  and  vicinity,  between  the  years  1858 
and  1875,  well  remember  E.  M.  May,  who  conducted  a  fancy  bakery, 
ice  cream  parlors  and  fruit  stand  near  the  store  of  Henry  Brothers, 
and  erected  the  fine  three  story  brick  building  in  that  locality.  Mr, 
May  plodded  along  here  for  about  eighteen  years,  when  he  sold  out 
and  went  to  Minneapolis,  where  he  entered  the  same  business  on  a 
large  scale  and  became  wealthy,  so  well  fixed  that  he  retired  with  a 
fortune,  although  in  business  there  but  about  fifteen  years.  He  died 
in  1896.  Mrs.  May  and  her  son  Fred,  reside  in  a  fine  home  on  the 
shore  of  Lake  Calhoun,  and  she  has  many  flats  and  other  property 
from  which  to  collect  rents.  Mrs.  J.  V.  Frost,  also  well  known  in 
Fond  du  Lac,  resides  a  close  neighbor  of  Mrs.  May.  Fred  May  has 
one  of  the  noted  lofts  of  homeing  pigeons  in  the  United  States,  and 
his  birds  have  made  some  remarkable  flights.  Dr.  Cad  May,  so  well 
known  as  a  boy  in  Fond  du  Lac,  died  some  years  ago.  The  place 
kept  here  by  Mr.  May  in  the  old  times,  was  one  much  frequented  for 
lunches,  ice  cream,  fruit,  etc.,  and  few  people  had  a  more  general 
acquaintance.  He  went  to  Minneapolis  at  just  the  right  time  in  the 
city's  business  career,  and  pushing  business  prospered.  The  family 
still  has  many  warm  friends  here. 


Experiences  of  Early  Dealers. 

In  the  early  days  of  trade  in  Fond  du  Lac,  dealers  had  their 
troubles.  The  dry  goods  man  knew  nothing  about  rugs,  made  up 
white  goods  or  department  store  notions ;  the  hardware  man  knew 
nothing  about  wire  fencing,  building  paper  or  coal  stoves ;  the 
grocer}^  dealer  had  no  knowledge  of  cereal  foods,  canned  goods  or 
foreign  fruits :  the  dealer  in  furniture  was  ignorant  as  to  cabinet  and 
spring  beds,  couches  and  willow  chairs :  the  jeweler  knew  nothing 
about  Waltham,  Elgin  and  other  American  watches,  but  sold  English 
levers,  Swiss  and  French  cylinder  escapements ;  the  druggist  did  not 
have  the  tablets,  alkaloids  and  pills  of  the  present ;  milliners  were 
ignorant  of  the  modern  hat.  These  are  but  a  few  of  the  articles  that 
old  time  dealers  were  ignorant  of,  and  the  number  is  increasing  now 
from  year  to  year.  WHiat  will  be  the  situation  in  fifty  years  more  no 
one  can  foresee. 


280  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Wild  Bakery  and  Confectionery. 

The  late  B.  Wild  came  to  Fond  dn  Lac  in  1858  and  became  pro- 
prietor of  the  bakery  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  East  First  streets, 
in  1859,  under  the  name  Excelsior  Bakery.  In  1867  the  property  on 
East  First  street,  near  Marr,  was  bought,  the  old  premises  having 
become  too  small,  a  suitable  building  was  erected  and  the  bakery 
removed  there.  These  premises  also  became  too  small  as  the  business 
increased,  and  additions  were  made  to  it  until  at  the  time  of  consolida- 
tion, it  had  become  one  of  the  largest  concerns  of  its  kind  in  the 
state.  In  1883,  the  buildings  were  partly  destroyed  by  fire,  but  were 
at  once  rebuilt  larger  than  before.  At  this  time  the  product  of  the 
factory  was  mostly  crackers  and  confectionery,  though  some  other 
bakery  stock  was  made.  Mr.  Wild  introduced  the  round  "cottage 
loaves"  of  bread  and  for  many  years  was  a  by  no  means  small  part 
of  the  daily  output.  In  1896  the  Wild  factory  was  consolidated  with 
the  great  American  Biscuit  Company  and  the  factory  in  Fond  du  Lac 
was  closed  and  dismantled,  much  to  the  regret  of  all  citizens  and  of 
Mr.  Wild  himself,  who  consented  to  it  because  of  advancing  age  and 
a  more  profitable  business  arrangement.  It  was  Mr.  Wild  who  put 
down  the  first  of  the  deep  fountains  in  Fond  du  Lac,  at  this  factory. 
He  was  a  man  of  the  highest  character,  and  was  beloved  by  all 
citizens.     He  died  in  1904. 


The  Rueping  Tannery, 

This  is  another  of  the  grand  business  institutions  of  Fond  du  Lac, 
and  which  has  grown  to  immense  proportions.  The  business  was 
started  here  in  1854  by  the  elder  William  Rueping  and  his  two  oldest 
sons.  The  plant  was  a  small  one  at  the  start,  but  they  were  practical 
and  pushing  business  men  and  there  was  rapid  growth.  The  build- 
ings were  quite  modest  at  first,  but  they  were  three  times  increased 
by  the  addition  of  brick  structures,  until  they  have  reached  the 
present  very  large  proportions.  It  is  now  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  complete  tanneries  in  the  state.  The  machinery  and  appliances 
used  are  of  modern  design  and  the  process  the  best  known  to  the 
business.  No  acids  or  destructive  material  is  used  in  any  form.  The 
quick  process  for  tanning  has  always  been  ignored.  The  tanning 
obtained  from  hemlock  bark,  is  the  best  material  and  thousands  of 
cords  of  hemlock  bark  is  used  every  year.  The  output  of  this  tannery 
is  very  large  but  finds  a  ready  market.  Only  a  visit  to  this  large  con- 
cern can  give  any  adequate  idea  of  its  magnitude. 


All  is  Not  Possible. 

In  an  experience  of  more  than  fifty  years  in  a  community  like 
Fond  du  Lac,  so  much  transpires  that  it  is  impossible  to  make  note 
of  everything  in  a  book  like  this.  The  author  would  have  been  glad 
to  note  many  things  which  he  has  been  compelled  to  omit.  Future 
efforts  he  hopes  will  bring  all  into  line.  If  the  reader  is  inclined  to 
criticise,  let  him  but  bear  all  the  facts  in  mind. 


NOW  ALMOST  UNKNOWN 


Some  Things  About  the  Towns,  Cities  and  Villages  in  Early  Times, 
Now  Almost  or  Quite  Forgotten. 


In  early  times  there  was  in  the  town  of  Ashford,  a  place  of  some 
notoriety  under  the  name  of  Crouchville.  L.  Crouch  had  a  water 
power  there,  which  he  improved  and  the  village  of  Crouchville  was 
well  known  and  talked  about.  But  the  water  decreased  in  quantity 
as  in  all  other  sections  as  the  land  was  improved  and  the  notoriety 
of  the  place  ceased  to  the  extent  that  few  people  now  know  where  it 
was.  Recently  the  writer  had  occasion  to  look  the  matter  up  and  his 
inquiries  reached  to  at  least  twenty  old  residents  before  he  found 
one  to  give  the  location  with  certainty  and  that  person  was  born 
there.  What  was  in  the  early  times  known  as  Crouchville  is  now 
New  Cassel.  This  incident  shows  how  completely  things  will  drop 
from  memory. 

Rising  Sun  and  Tavern  used  to  be  talked  of,  but  how  many  now 
know  that  it  was  in  the  town  of  Springvale  near  Wedge's  Prairie. 
There  it  was,  however,  and  all  old  timers  knew  the  place  well,  but 
there  are  few,  if  any,  now  living  who  could  go  to  the  place. 

Reed's  Corners  was  another  once  well  known  locality,  but  now 
almost  wholly  unknown.  Almon  Osburn,  Curt.  Higly,  George  Good- 
fellow  and  Squire  Raymonds  have  passed  away  and  Reed's  Corners, 
between  Ripon  and  Brandon,  in  the  town  of  Metomen,  is  almost 
unknown. 

Pequat  Village,  in  the  town  of  Calumet.  Who  can  tell  just 
where  it  was  in  the  palmy  days  of  Rufus  P.  Eaton  and  John  Boyd? 

Arcade,  just  west  of  Ripon,  once  had  several  houses  and  the 
fine  flouring  mill  had  a  large  patronage.  The  mill  is  there  yet,  but 
the  water  of  Silver  Creek  has  largely  disappeared,  as  have  also  most 
of  the  houses  in  Arcade.  Most  people  have  forgotten  that  there 
ever  was  such  a  place. 

Black  Hawk  was  the  name  of  a  proposed  village  at  one  time,  in 
the  town  of  Alto,  but  little  is  known  now  about  it.  Black  Hawk 
postoffice  was  connected  with  it  in  very  early  times. 

Avoca  village,  in  the  town  of  Oakfield,  one  mile  north  of  Oak- 
field  station,  at  what  was  in  early  days  known  as  the  Orvis  mill, 
once  gave  promise  of  much  more  than  has  come  to  it.  Avoca  has 
been  in  decline  many  years.  The  mill  is  there  yet,  but  the  water  is 
not  sufficient  for  it  to  do  much  business.     Decay  is  apparent. 

Foster,  at  the  Foster  postofifice  and  home  of  Egbert  Foster,  two 
and  one-half  miles  east  of  the  present  Eden  station,  a  village  was 
talked  of  but  died  out  after  Mr.  Foster  left  the  county. 

New  Fane  postoffice  in  the  town  of  Auburn,  was  an  incipient 
village,  but  died  an  early  death,  together  with  the  postoffice. 


282  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 

As  if  in  need  of  a  capitol,  all  the  towns  in  this  county  possess 
villages  as  follows : 

Alto — Village  of  Alto. 

Ashford — Campbellsport. 

Auburn — New  Prospect  and  New  Cassel. 

Byron — South  Byron.  AUenton  is  little  more  than  a  railroad 
station  and  Hamilton  is  a  stone  quarry  and  lime  burning  village. 

Calumet — Marytown  and  Calumet  Harbor. 

Eden — Village  of  Eden  Station.  Marblehead  is  a  stone  quarry 
and  lime  burning  place. 

Eldorado — Eldorado  Village. 

Empire — Eggersville.  The  homestead  of  the  de  Neveu  family 
has  been  known  as  Buena  Vista,  but  was  never  a  village 

Fond  du  Lac — City  of  Fond  du  Lac.  The  prosperous  young  city 
of  North  Fond  du  Lac,  is  at  the  shops  of  the  Wisconsin  Central  Rail- 
road and  the  location  of  the  Northwestern  shops,  near  it,  is  sometimes 
called  New  Fond  du  Lac. 

Forest — Dotyville. 

Friendship — Vandyne. 

Lamartine — Seven  Mile  Creek. 

Marshfield — St.  Cloud  and  Johnsburg. 

Metomen — Brandon. 

Oakfield — Oakfield  Station,  Oak  Center  and  Rock  River  have 
little  pretensions  now  as  villages. 

Osceola — Waucousta  and  Dundee.  What  was  known  as  Arm- 
strong's Corners  was  never  much  more  than  a  postoffice. 

Ripon — City  of  Ripon. 

Rosendale — Rosendale  Village.  What  is  known  as  West  Rosen- 
dale,  was  and  is  but  a  school  house  and  postoffice. 

Springvale — Rogersville,  with  little  claim  to  the  title  of  village. 

Taycheedah — Village  of  Taycheedah.  The  name  of  Peebles' 
Corners  is  given  to  the  railroad  station  just  east  of  Taycheedah. 

Waupun — North  Ward  of  the  City  of  Waupun. 

Some  of  the  old  time  postoffices  now  and  for  many  years  discon- 
tinued, were  Nanaupa,  Banner,  Woodhull,  Kirkwood,  Empire,  Arm- 
strong's Corners,  Foster,  North  Taycheedah  and  Metomen. 

When  Fond  du  Lac  was  set  off  from  Brown  county,  all  of  the 
townships  did  not  appear  at  the  same  time.  When  we  appeared  as 
a  county  we  had  but  eleven  of  the  twenty  townships  now  on  the 
roll,  the  others  came  later.  The  town  of  Marshfield  was  not  sliced 
from  Forest  and  made  into  a  township  until  1854.  Lamartine  lost 
the  territory  of  Eldorado  in  1853,  and  Auburn,  Springvale  and 
Friendship  were  first  entitled  to  places  on  the  map  of  the  county  in 
1854.  Joseph  Wagner  put  in  his  first  appearance  on  the  county 
board  from  the  town  of  Forest,  but  he  subsequently  had  the  chair- 
manship from  Marshfield  until  he  had  attended  a  total  of  fourteen 
sessions  of  the  county  board.  But  S.  B.  Stanchfield  holds  the  lead 
with  an  attendance  of  twenty-two  sessions  from  the  town  of  Fond 
du  Lac,  at  six  of  which  he  presided  as  chairman.  "Uncle  Billy 
Stewart"  comes  next  with  nine  sessions  from  Byron  and  Eden.     A. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  283 

A.  Loper  attended  seven  sessions  from  the  town  of  Ripon,  Aaron 
Walters  five  from  Eden  and  a  great  many  were  on  the  boards  two 
to  five  times. 


Ashford  Bear  Story. 

In  eafly  times  the  timber  country  of  the  east  part  of  Fond  du 
Lac  county  was  infested  by  bears,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  year  in 
particular,  were  numerous.  Farmers  often  suffered  much  from  their 
depredations.  Pigs,  sheep,  calves  and  even  cattle  were  destroyed 
by  them.  Few  of  them  ever  appeared  on  the  prairies  of  the  west 
half  of  the  county,  but  in  the  east  half  they  were  numerous.  Follow- 
ing is  the  Ashford  bear  story  as  told  by  Martin  Mitchell : 

Among  the  annoyances,  with  which  the  early  settlers  in  this 
town  had  to  contend,  was  the  ferocity  of  bears ;  these  were  so  numer- 
ous that  they  became  very  bold,  and  somewhat  dangerous.  On  one 
occasion  Mr.  Alex.  St.  Mary,  while  looking  after  his  oxen,  was  set 
upon  by  a  bear,  which  had  a  cub  near  by. 

He  sought  refuge  by  climbing  a  tree ;  but  she  was  not  to  be  foiled 
of  her  prey  without  further  effort,  and  attempted  to  climb  after  him 
when  his  dog  seized  the  bear  by  the  thighs  and  pulled  her  back,  the 
dog  then  retreated,  and  the  bear  after  him  a  short  distance,  and  then 
returned  to  the  tree,  and  as  soon  as  she  attempted  to  climb,  the  dog 
would  pull  her  down,  St.  Mary  in  the  tree  all  the  time  hallowing  for 
help :  this  was  continued  until  several  men,  hearing  the  cry  for  help, 
arrived  with  guns,  and  bruin  made  her  escape,  though  with  the  loss 
of  her  cub. 


The  Refrigerator  Business. 

The  first  refrigerator,  or  so  called  ice  box,  built  in  Fond  du  Lac, 
was  the  "North  Pole,"  by  Eliab  Perkins,  in  war  times,  but  a  business 
worthy  the  name,  was  not  opened  here  until  1890,  by  C.  J.  Medberry 
and  M.  B.  Peck,  under  the  name  of  the  "Gurney."  In  that  year  they 
bought  the  real  estate  of  the  La  Belle  Wagon  Works,  and  associated 
with  a  few  local  stockholders,  began  building  the  Gurney  on  a  larger 
scale.  So  many  were  made  that  some  believed  they  would  be 
swamped,  but  every  one  was  sold  and  the  demand  was  for  more. 
They  went  to  eastern  markets  and  many  were  shipped  to  foreign 
countries.  The  business  has  increased  from  year  to  year,  yet  none 
are  left  over.  In  1901  the  buildings  were  burned  but  were  at  once 
rebuilt  larger  than  before.  Mr.  Peck  died  in  1903,  but  the  business 
has  been  actively  continued. 

In  1892,  George  Bowen,  till  then  superintendent  of  the  Gurney, 
with  a  number  of  local  stockholders,  formed  the  Bowen  Manufactur- 
ing Company  and  began  making  the  Bowen  Refrigerator.  From  the 
start  they  readily  sold  all  they  could  make,  and  ever  since  the 
Bowen  plant  has  been  one  of  the  largest  and  most  active  in  the  city. 


284  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Wisconsin  Phalanx  at  Ripon. 

This  organization  was  based  upon  the  theory  of  Horace  Greeley, 
of  the  New  York  Tribune,  for  the  development  of  a  new  country. 
Some  of  the  best  men  in  this  part  of  the  state  came  here  as  members 
of  it,  but  the  old  doctrines  of  disintegration  asserted  themselves  and 
its  light  went  out  after  a  comparatively  brief  period.  It  came  here 
in  the  early  spring  of  1844,  and  after  six  years,  in  the  fall  of  1850, 
ceased  to  exist.  When  they  came  the  locality  was  known  as  Ceresco, 
but  in  1849  was  changed  to  Ripon.  It  may  be  truthfully  said  that  the 
Phalanx  was  in  a  large  measure  a  success,,  but  individuality  was  the 
rock  to  cause  the  wreck.  In  after  years  the  members  did  not  hesitate 
to  express  their  belief  that  the  system  was  the  best  possible  method 
for  the  development  of  a  new  country. 

Among  the  early  arrivals  as  members  of  the  Phalanx,  were 
W^arren  Chase,  Lester  Rounds,  Jacob  Woodrufif,  Wm.  Starr,  John 
Irving,  Nathan  Hunter,  Robert  C.  Mason,  Gib.  Lane,  David  Dunham, 
M.  Limbert  and  others.  The  Phalanx  was  organized  at  Southport, 
now  Kenosha,  and  came  thence  to  Ceresco,  now  Ripon.  They 
brought  their  own  teams  and  tools.  They  at  once  built  a  floviring 
mill  and  a  small  sawmill.  Geo.  W.  Dellinger  was  the  miller.  They 
had  their  own  store  and  their  own  shops.  Liquor  was  not  allowed 
in  the  settlement  and  there  was  never  a  case  of  drunkenness.  The 
character  of  the  men  composing  the  Phalanx  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  during  the  whole  of  the  six  years  there  was  not  one  lawsuit. 

At  the  time  the  Phalanx  disbanded,  it  owned  six  hundred  acres  of 
the  beautiful  land  in  Ripon,  and  everything  was  divided  and  settled 
upon  a  basis  that  left  no  trouble  or  bitterness  and  not  one  quarrel. 
It  is  not  at  all  probable  that  all  organizations  of  this  character  would 
so  fully  demonstrate  the  theories  of  Horace  Greeley,  especially  in 
regard  to  internal  workings,  as  this  one  possessed  members  much 
above  the  average  in  honesty  and  intelligence. 


The  Drug  Mill. 

This  is  one  of  the  important  institutions  of  Fond  du  Lac, 
although  the  people  generally  hear  very  little  about  it.  Started  in 
1844,  it  has  slowly  grown  into  a  large  concern.  It  was  the  object  of 
the  proprietors,  Messrs.  Huber  and  Fuhrman,  to  make  it  a  reliable, 
rather  than  startling  in  its  growth  and  reputation.  They  determined 
from  the  beginning  to  build  up  a  reputation  for  their  product,  which 
should  command  the  patronage  of  the  wholesale  trade  east  and  west. 
At  first  they  ground  and  pulverized  only  home  grown  articles,  but 
later  on  they  imported  all  products  for  which  there  was  a  demand. 
To  properly  care  for  these  articles  and  meet  the  demand  from  whole- 
sale druggists,  they  have  from  time  to  time  enlarged  the  warehouses 
and  the  mill.  All  parts  of  the  world  are  drawn  upon  to  meet  the 
demand.  The  mill  of  the  early  timers  was  a  sorry  affair  compared 
with  that  of  today.  It  is  doubtful  if  there  is  any  man  in  this  country 
more  skilled  in  his  line  of  business  than  Mr.  J.  C.  Fuhrman,  of  the 
Fond  du  Lac  drug  mill. 


PAPER  MONEY  SMELLS  BAD 


When  You  Receive  a  Package  of  Paper  Money  from  the  Bank,  Don't 
Put  it  to  Your  Nose  for  a  Smell.     It  is  Not  White  Clover, 


Strength  of  Paper  Money. 

Picking  up  a  bill  of  the  paper  money  of  the  country,  imagine,  if 
you  can,  where  that  bill  may  have  been,  into  what  sort  of  places  and 
into  the  possession  of  what  class  of  people,  since  it  was  issued  new 
and  crisp.  All  this  is  conjecture,  but  there  is  no  doubt  about  the 
smell.  A  package  of  money,  much  as  we  desire  to  possess  it,  is 
suggestive  of  nastiness  in  the  highest  degree.  You  are  willing  to 
pocket  a  package  if  you  can,  but  you  will  not  bring  it  to  your  nose 
more  than  once  by  free  consent.  A  one  dollar  bill  by  its  individual 
smell,  may  be  suggestive  of  leprosy,  smallpox,  itch  or  other  disease. 
Tellers  in  banks  no  doubt  incur  risks  sometimes.  But  there  is  some- 
thing besides  smell  in  considering  the  strength  of  paper  money. 
Bank  notes  stand  much  handling. 

That  Uncle  Sam's  notes  stand  a  great  deal  of  rough  and  careless 
handling  is  a  fact  that  impresses  itself  upon  any  one  who  has  ever 
chanced  to  note  the  manner  in  which  the  average  cashier  pulls  and 
jerks  the  bills  before  he  pushes  them  through  the  window  to  the 
waiting  patron. 

A  single  treasury  note  measures  three  and  one-eighth  inches  in 
width  by  seven  and  one-fourth  inches  in  length.  It  will  sustain, 
without  breaking,  lengthwise,  a  weight  of  forty-one  pounds ;  cross- 
wise, a  weight  of  ninety-one  pounds.  The  notes  run  four  to  a  sheet — 
a  sheet  being  eight  and  one-fourth  inches  wide  by  thirteen  and  one- 
half  inches  long.  One  of  these  sheets  lengthwise  will  suspend  io8 
pounds,  and  crosswise  177  pounds. 

It  will  be  observed  that  a  single  note  is  capable  of  sustaining, 
crosswise,  a  weight  of  ninety-one  pounds,  which  is  twice  the  amount 
by  nine  pounds,  of  the  weight  the  note  can  sustain  lengthwise ;  while 
in  the  case  of  the  sheet,  the  crosswise  sheet  lacks  thirty-nine  pounds 
of  double  the  sustaining  power  of  the  lengthwise  sheet. 

Notes  of  the  Bank  of  England  are  never  passed  out  a  second 
time.  A  note  issued  this  morning  and  coming  in  during  the  day's 
business,  is  not  allowed  further  circulation,  no  matter  how  crisp  and 
new.  They  are  destroyed  and  newly  -numbered  ones  take  their 
places,  therefore  a  Bank  of  England  note  is  not  likely  to  carry  or 
breed  disease.  These  notes  are  not  pretty,  but  they  possess  the  merit 
of  being  clean. 

Except  that  the  notes  are  not  destroyed  but  are  filed  away  in 


286  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAU 

great  vaults,  the  situation  and  practice  in  Germany  is  very  much  the 
same  as  in  England. 

Why  has  not  our  government  put  into  practice  some  form  of 
relief  from  the  outrageously  dirty  and  bad  smelling  paper  money 
issued  here?  Not  only  bank  tellers  but  all  who  handle  money  ask 
for  relief. 


Fev^  Now  in  Existence. 

The  pennies  which  Fond  du  Lac  dealers  had  made  and  circulated 
in  war  times,  were  for  purposes  of  change  in  sums  less  than  five 
cents.  The  nickle  coins  did  not  come  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
There  was  a  three  cent  coin  in  use,  but  it  disappeared  with  our  other 
coins.  All  were  glad  that  the  three  cent  coins  were  retired,  as  they 
were  so  often  mistaken  for  dimes  as  to  cause  trouble.  Government 
interfered  with  the  local  war  pennies  and  they  disappeared  so  com- 
pletely that  the  writer  has  seen  but  one  in  many  years.  They  were 
plentiful  at  one  time  in  our  local  history.  In  the  first  issue  of  the 
fractional  currency,  there  was  a  three  cent  note,  but  it  soon  disap- 
peared and  no  more  were  issued.  . 


Matches  Not  in  Use. 

The  family  of  today  that  goes  out  into  the  country  for  a  while, 
is  very  sure  not  to  forget  the  matches.  What  could  they  do — how 
could  they  get  along  without  them.  But  remember  that  when  the 
pioneer  came  to  Fond  du  Lac  covmty,  there  were  no  matches  to  for- 
get. A  friction  match,  as  they  were  called,  were  not  put  on  the 
market  until  about  1842.  In  the  evening  the  candle  was  lighted  with 
a  splinter  or  shaving,  lighted  in  the  fire.  The  active  housekeeper 
would  have  a  bunch  of  dry  splinters  but  no  matches.  If  the  family 
got  up  in  the  morning  to  find  that  the  fire  had  gone  out  during  the 
night,  some  one  had  to  hike  off  to  a  neighbor's  house  to  get  some. 
Care  was  taken  to  cover  the  fire  so  it  could  not  die  out,  yet  it  did 
sometimes.  Old  people  well  remember  the  "tinder  box"  on  the 
kitchen  mantle,  in  which  were  the  steel,  flint  and  punk,  the  latter  a 
kind  of  rotted  wood  that  would  take  fire  from  a  spark.  The  writer 
has  one  of  them  now,  but  it  is  held  as  a  curiosity  instead  of  necessity, 
as  in  old  times. 


Level  of  Dr.  Bishop's  House. 

Who  would  suspect  when  standing  and  looking  at  it, 
that  the  ground  on  which  Dr.  Bishop's  hovise  stands,  is  the 
highest  in  that  part  of  the  city.  The  corner  of  Marr  and  Sixth  seems 
to  be  higher,  but  it  is  really  a  trifle  lower.  When  he  built  the  house 
Dr.  Patchen  had  the  levels  taken  by  Col.  Boardman  and  he  found  the 
location  of  the  house  higher  than  any  of  the  surrounding  country. 
Dr.  Patchen  informed  the  writer  that  Sixth  street,  near  Main,  was 
just  the  same  as  at  his  house.  Localities  are  sometimes  very  deceiv- 
ing. 


OLD  SETTLERS  IN  1905 


The   Fall   Meeting   of  the   Old   Settlers'   Club,   August   30,    1905,   in 
Every  Respect  Most  Successful. 


The  pioneers  of  Fond  du  Lac  county,  who  had  laid  the  founda- 
tions upon  which  to  build  and  to  whom  all  credit  is  due  for  what  has 
been  achieved,  gathered  in  Fond  du  Lac,  August  30,  1905,  the  day  of 
the  annual  picnic  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Club. 

The  gathering  was  one  of  the  largest  in  the  history  of  the  or- 
ganization, and  Fond  du  Lac  might  well  feel  proud  of  entertaining 
such  a  representative  body.  While  the  sturdy  pioneer  was  there  to 
listen  to  the  exercises,  close  by  sat  the  younger  generation,  taking 
equally  as  great  interest  in  what  was  said  and  done.  As  the  writer 
looked  over  the  vast  throng,  noticing  the  men  and  women  who  were 
boys  and  girls  fifty  years  ago,  he  felt  that  Fond  du  Lac  county  had 
been  in  loyal  hands  during  the  early  stages,  and  this  in  the  main 
brought  about  its  success.  It  would  have  been  interesting  to  have 
had  the  afifair  continue  for  several  days  and  listen  to  each  one  tell  of 
the  early  days ;  tell  how  the  forests  gave  way  to  thrifty  farms  under 
the  axe  in  the  hands  of  the  pioneer,  and  how  the  fitting  helpmate 
endured  the  privations  that  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  early  settler,  uncom- 
plaining by  the  side  of  her  husband. 

The  younger  generation  drank  in  every  word,  and  well  they 
might.  The  lesson  was  one  of  more  value  than  a  sheepskin  or 
diploma  issued  to  a  college  graduate.  Unless  the  young  man  or 
woman  could  face  adversity  as  the  pioneers  had,  then  all  would  be 
of  no  avail.  The  college  education  would  be  of  no  value.  The  rising 
generation  should  attend  these  occasions  annually  and  take  an  in- 
structive lesson. 

The  people  commenced  arriving  in  the  morning  and  at  the  noon 
hour  fully  five  hundred  were  on  the  grounds  to  participate  in  the 
picnic  dinner.  There  was  a  steady  pour  into  the  fair  grounds,  and 
when  the  hour  arrived  for  the  ceremonies  to  begin,  fully  1,500  were 
on  the  grounds,  completely  filling  the  large  building,  and  hundreds 
were  outside. 

H.  D.  Hitt,  of  Oakfield,  president  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Club,  pre- 
sided at  the  meeting,  and  shortly  after  one  o'clock  introduced  the 
first  speaker,  Lieut.  Col.  J.  A.  Watrous,  of  Milwaukee.  Col.  Watrous 
is  a  pioneer  of  this  state  and  at  one  time  resided  in  Forest,  this  county. 
At  the  present  time  he  has  relatives  residing  in  Taycheedah. 

"My  remarks  to  you  today,  my  kind  friends,"  said  Col.  Watrous, 
•'will  be  from  the  heart,  as  I  am  here  to  talk  to  you  as  one  of  you, 
about  the  early  days  and  some  of  the  great  developments  which  we 
have  witnessed  during  the  course  of  the  past  fifty  years.  We  have 
seen  a  backwoods  nation  rise  step  by  step  until  it  has  surpassed  all 


288  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 

of  the  powers,  and  yesterday  we  were  given  to  understand  what  pres- 
tige the  United  States  has  acquired.  Our  great  president,  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  who  can  no  longer  be  regarded  as  a  party  man,  but  a 
nation's  pride,  is  now  the  man  of  the  hour  and  the  influential  factor 
in  bringing  about  a  reconciliation  between  warring  powers  in  the  far 
east.  I  do  not  think  any  one  can  accuse  a  speaker  of  infusing  politics 
when  he  speaks  of  Roosevelt  in  glowing  terms.  His  great  victory  of 
yesterday  is  but  another  step  in  the  advancement  of  the  nation. 

"I  have  not  prepared  any  studied  manuscript,"  continued  Col. 
Watrous,  "but  I  have  come  here  to  tell  a  few  stories  and  look  back 
with  you  over  that  great  period  of  development  in  the  nation's  history 
which  in  my  belief,  has  no  equal.  We  were  here  to  see  the  country 
before  the  war  and  here  to  witness  its  reorganization  into  a  world's 
power.  I  came  here  to  Wisconsin  in  1844  from  New  York  state,  and 
to  Fond  du  Lac  county  in  1847,  so  you  see  that  I  am  as  much  a  Fond 
du  Lac  county  product  as  many  of  you.  I  took  up  my  residence  in 
the  town  of  Forest,  though  I  did  not  remain  many  years  there." 

Comparing  the  opportunities  of  today  with  those  of  the  young 
man  fifty  or  seventy-five  years  ago.  Col.  Watrous  said:  "We  are 
often  told  that  the  young  man  of  today  has  not  the  opportunity  for 
success  as  those  of  the  time  when  we  were  boys,  but  I  will  say  that 
he  has  five  times  as  much.  There  are  greater  and  more  avenues  of 
development  now  than  there  ever  were  before.  Every  road  to  success 
awaits  the  young  man  of  today,  but  he  cannot  travel  with  laziness 
in  his  bones  or  inactivity  in  his  brain.  He  must  be  alive  to 
every  situation  and  have  unbounded  energy  and  courage.  So 
equipped  he  cannot  help  but  be  a  success. 

"When  I  first  came  to  Wisconsin  the  opportunities  were  rather 
limited.  There  were  no  railroads  and  the  state  was  practically  a 
wilderness  and  the  accommodations  and  conveniences  in  every  line 
were  primitive  indeed.  But  the  pioneers  had  to  make  the  best  of 
them,  and  the  hard  and  industrious  workers  have  been  rewarded,  for 
they  have  done  their  share,  as  much  as  any  one  in  building  up  the 
state  and  nation. 

"I  am  a  firm  believer  in  old  settlers'  clubs,"  said  the  colonel,  "for 
I  think  it  is  an  excellent  way  for  preserving  memories  of  the  day  long 
past  and  giving  them  to  the  present  generation,  that  they  may  know 
what  has  been  endured  for  their  good.  I  hope  that  the  future  of  this 
society  will  be  crowned  with  success." 

Old  Settlers'  Program. 

Fall  meeting  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Club  held  at  the  fair  grounds 
in  the  city  of  Fond  du  Lac,  August  30,  1905. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  club  the  Executive  Committee  was 
directed  to  fix  the  time  for  the  mid-summer  meeting  on  some  day 
between  the  20th  and  30th  of  June.  Early  in  June  a  meeting  of  the 
committee  was  held,  and  because  of  the  storms  and  floods  and  bad 
condition  of  the  roads  it  was  thought  best  to  adjourn  the  meeting 
until  about  fair  time.     Another  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  289 

was  held  on  August  2,  all  the  members  being  present,  and  the  time 
for  the  meeting  was  fixed  for  August  30,  at  10  a.  m.,  at  the  fair 
grounds. 

The  Executive  Committee  urged  all  old  settlers  to  be  present  at 
this  meeting,  whether  members  of  the  club  or  not,  and  to  request  all 
their  friends  to  come.  The  dinner  was  in  the  nature  of  a  basket  picnic 
banquet,  under  direction  of  the  committee  on  entertainment. 

The  following  program  was  arranged  for  the  occasion : 

Annual  address  by  Col.  J.  A.  Watrous. 

Paper  by  Mrs.  Edgar  Wilcox,  of  Oakfield. 

Select  readings  by  Miss  Susie  Hall,  Miss  Barbara  Sweet  and 
Mrs.  A.  E.  Lindsley. 

Obituary  notices  were  read  as  follows : 

William  Adams,  by  Franklin  Swett. 

R.  K.  Satterfield,  by  William  Stearns. 

J.  J.  Lurvey  and  M.  W.  Merrill,  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Burns. 

Charles  Rodney  Harrison,  Benjamin  Franklin  Moore,  Lyman  F. 
Stow,   Charles  Henry  DeGroat  and   Mrs.   Maria  Probert   Bishop,  by 

A.  T.  Glaze. 

Short  addresses  and  talks  by  Old  Settlers. 

The  following  committees  were  appointed  for  this  meeting: 

Program— President  H.  D.  Hitt,  F.  B.  Hoskins,  G.  N.  Mihills, 
Mrs.  Hattie  Sackett. 

Entertainment — Mrs.  G.  I.  Susan,  Mrs.  G.  N.  Mihills,  Mrs.  Jane 
Ann  Ward,  Mrs.  S.  H.  Cheney,  Mr.  O.  F.  Lewis. 

Reception— S.  M.  Ingalls,  B.  J.  Gilbert,  Dr.  J.  W.  Burns,  Dr.  D. 

B.  Wyatt,  H.  A.  Ripley,  Mrs.  L.  F.  McLean,  Mrs.  H.  D.  Hitt,  Mrs. 
F.  B.  Hoskins,  Mrs.  L.  A.  Bishop,  Mrs.  A.  T.  Glaze,  Mrs.  M.  E. 
Dudley. 

Transportation — W.  A.  Meiklejohn. 

An  abundance  of  stable  and  shed  room  was  provided  for  all  who 
came  in  their  own  conveyances. 


A  Fourth  of  July  Fire. 

In  the  old  times  when  Fire  Engine  No.  i,  located  on  Main  street, 
No.  2  on  Division  street.  No.  3  on  Arndt  street,  and  No.  4  on  Military 
street,  each  with  its  accompanying  hose  cart  decorated  for  a  4th  of 
July  turnout,  there  was  a  worth  while  demonstration  and  the  boys 
who  manned  the  drag-ropes  took  delight  in  it.  On  one  4th  of  July,  the 
year  is  not  remembered,  but  it  was  not  far  from  i860,  a  fire  alarm 
started  from  the  east  side  of  Main  street,  north  of  Division,  just  at 
the  close  of  the  procession,  and  it  would  have  been  amusing,  had  it 
not  been  provoking  to  see  the  flowers,  ribbons  and  bunting  flying  to 
get  to  work.  Main  street  from  Division  to  Merrill,  was  strewed  with 
the  ornamenting  material  that  the  bo3's  and  girls  too,  for  they  helped, 
had  placed  on  the  apparatus  with  so  much  care.  No  one,  however, 
was  disposed  to  cry  about  it,  for  they  were  always  ready  at  a 
moment's  notice  to  fight  fire. 


290  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 

Coming  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas. 

In  September,  i860,  the  democrats  of  Fond  du  Lac  had  what 
was  doubtless  the  largest  political  meeting  ever  held  here.  The  ex- 
citement in  political  circles  was  so  great  that  all  meetings  were 
exciting,  but  on  this  occasion  it  was  particularly  so.  Nearly  all  the 
democrats  here  were  friends  and  supporters  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas, 
and  he  was  to  be  here  on  the  occasion  referred  to.  That  party  really 
had  three  national  tickets  in  the  field  in  that  campaign.  Breckenridge 
and  Lane  were  supported  by  the  southern  pro-slavery  wing,  after- 
wards the  confederate  or  rebel  side.  Douglas  and  Johnson 
represented  the  squatter  sovereignty  or  northern  progressive  side, 
and  Bell  and  Everett  claimed  to  be  a  sort  of  constitutional  party. 
The  feeling  in  the  north  was  very  strong  for  Douglas  and  Johnson, 
and  when  Douglas  was  announced  to  speak  in  Fond  du  Lac,  the 
feeling  ran  tremendously  high.  A  committee  of  leading  Fond  du  Lac 
democrats,  including  Charles  A.  Eldredge,  Edward  Beeson,  D.  E. 
Hoskins,  Aaron  Walters,  D.  R.  Curran,  G.  W.  Weikert  and  others, 
was  appointed  to  meet  Douglas  and  party  at  Watertown,  and  escort 
them  here.  A  torchlight  procession  of  magnitude  never  before  seen 
here,  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  train  at  the  Northwestern  station  on 
Division  street,  and  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Douglas  from  the  train 
and  in  an  open  carriage  through  Main  street  to  the  court  house 
square,  was  a  continued  ovation.  Douglas  had  been  speaking  in  the 
open  air  for  two  or  three  weeks  and  was  very  hoarse,  but  he  enter- 
tained the  crowd  for  more  than  an  hour.  The  torchlight  procession 
and  excitement  did  not  end  until  long  after  midnight.  It  is  doubtful 
if  this  demonstration  was  ever  equaled  here  except  by  that  of  the 
"Wide  Awakes"  for  Lincoln  and  Hamlin  the  same  fall. 


Seemed  Like  a  Long  Job. 

At  the  time  the  Northwestern  railroad  track  was  laid  from  the 
Crofoot  bridge  south  to  Oakfield,  though  but  about  three  miles, 
seemed  to  be  a  long  job.  It  took  all  the  summer  of  1856  to  remove 
the  dirt  from  the  cut  north  of  Oakfield  station.  It  is  not  a  heavy  cut, 
but  it  was  a  formidable  job  at  that  time.  It  could  be  done  now  in  a 
month  or  less.  Contractors  in  railroad  building  are  hustlers  now, 
but  at  that  time  compared  to  today,  they  were  short  on  appliances 
and  in  experience.     They  know  all  about-it  now. 


Tallmadge  and  Mitchell. 
Gov.  N.  P.  Tallmadge  was  a  very  small  man  and  Mlartin  Mitchell, 
who  wrote  the  first  history  of  Fond  du  Lac  county,  was  a  very  tall 
one.  They  were  warm  friends  and  were  often  on  the  street  together, 
where  they  attracted  some  attention.  One  day  as  they  were  passing 
the  corner  of  Second  and  Main  streets,  a  number  of  people  were 
gazing  at  them,  when  Gov.  Tallmadge,  becoming  indignant,  re- 
marked, "we  are  not  animals  to  be  gazed  at,"  when  the  reply  came, 
"no,  but  you  are  a  show,  just  the  same." 


TO  BE  TRIED  AGAIN 


The  Use  of  Peat  Coming  to  the  Front  Again  and  the  Question  as  of 
Old,  is  How  to  Prepare  It. 


Assisting  Dame  Nature. 

Dame  Nature  has  furnished  everything  necessary  to  supply  the 
needs  of  man,  and  leaves  it  for  him  to  make  use  of  her  bounteous 
gifts.  Man  finds  the  supply  for  his  wants  at  the  proper  time,  directed 
to  it  by  the  Providence  which  always  watches  over  him,  adopts  it  and 
utilizes  it  to  fit  his  needs.  The  forest  was  made  for  man,  and  he  has 
converted  it  into  various  forms  for  his  uses,  making  building  material 
and  fuel  therefrom,  pulp  to  convert  into  paper,  and  other  things  for 
which  he  has  pressing  need.  Nature  also  supplied  the  coal  measures 
from  which  he  gets  the  coal  and  oil  of  commerce  which  gives  heat 
and  light  to  the  world.  She  has  also  furnished  another  fuel  supply 
in  the  form  of  peat  to  take  the  place  of  wood  and  coal,  when  they 
become  exhausted  or  are  too  costly  to  give  the  desired  results  from 
the  standpoint  of  economy.  Man  has  used  the  forest  for  his  fuel 
supply  from  time  immemorial.  For  a  much  shorter  period  of  time 
he  has  been  taking  coal  and  oil  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth  for  the 
same  purpose.  The  forests  are  passing  away.  The  coal  mines  and  oil 
fields  have  for  the  most  part  passed  into  the  hands  of  great  corpora- 
tions, which  make  the  people  pay  the  highest  price  possible  for  what 
they  get.  Perhaps  peat  is  destined  to  be  the  coming  fuel  for  a  large 
portion  of  the  American  people  for  these  reasons. 

Nature  Solves  the  Problem. 

Nature,  which  is  but  another  name  for  Providence,  seems  to  have 
furnished  the  solution  to  the  cheap  fuel  problem.  Peat  in  itself  is 
not  new,  for  it  has  been  used  in  some  parts  of  the  world  as  fuel  for 
centuries.  Its  use  thus  far,  however,  has  been  mostly  in  a  crude  way 
and  on  a  small  scale,  furnishing  the  home  supply  of  fuel  to  residents 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  deposits,  poor  people  who  otherwise  would  have 
little  or  no  fuel  to  supply  heat  for  warming  their  bodies  and  cooking 
their  food.  Peat  is  Nature's  simplest  fuel  supply,  the  rich,  deep, 
black  muck  of  the  marshes,  nothing  but  an  accumulation  of  the  vege- 
table growth  of  countless  ages,  and  of  the  same  general  nature  as 
the  great  coal  measures,  but  existing  under  different  conditions. 

The  Development  of  Peat. 

The  development  of  this  new  fuel  supply  is  yet  in  its  infancy  in 
this  section  of  the  world,  though  it  has  passed  through  the  experi- 
mental stages  in  other  localities.  For  many  centuries  pete  has  been 
practically  the  only  fuel  known  to  the  poorer  people  of  Ireland  and 
some  other  countries.  Nobody  knows  how  the  first  peat  burner 
learned  its  value,  but  reasoning  from  analogy  it  was  probably  brought 


292  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

to  man's  comprehension  by  the  burning  of  the  "bogs"  deep  down 
into  the  earth  in  seasons  of  excessive  drought,  when  the  grass  was 
set  on  fire.  If  the  bogs  would  burn  thus  when  set  on  fire,  and  con- 
tinue to  burn  until  saturated  with  water,  why  would  not  a  dry  turf 
burn. 

Should  the  development  of  peat  be  successful  and  a  desirable 
fuel  be  produced,  surely  it  will  be  a  grand  discovery,  as. the  marshes 
of  the  west  half  of  Fond  du  Lac  county,  are  peat  beds  of  quantity 
and  quality  unsurpassed. 

Readers  of  history  will  remember  that  it  was  but  about  a  century 
ago  that  the  people  were  ignorant  of  the  use  of  hard  coal  for  fuel 
and  the  discovery  was  an  accident.  Some  workmen  were  trying  to 
use  it  in  a  small  furnace  for  melting  brass,  but  after  struggling 
several  hours,  went  to  dinner  with  the  fire  apparently  "dead  out." 
Returning  they  found  a  glowing  fire  and  the  secret  of  how  to  burn 
hard  coal,  came  to  them  and  has  been  in  use  ever  since.  So  with 
peat,  we  have  it  in  any  quantity  and  we  must  learn  how  to  use  it. 
The  first  agitation  of  this  matter  in  Fond  du  Lac,  was  more  than 
fifty  years  ago,  and  Ripon  men  tried  it  thirty  years  ago,  but  all  were 
failures.  In  this  as  in  many  other  things,  we  must  live  and  learn,  and 
for  profit  "get  there"  as  soon  as  possible. 


Another  Indian  Scare. 

Miss  Fanny  Conklin  recalls  an  earlier  Indian  scare  than  that  of 
'62,  when  their  home  was  on  the  Phillips  farm.  Her  mother,  with 
three  children,  was  alone  in  the  house,  the  older  boys  and  men  being 
in  the  hayfield  some  distance  from  the  house.  Suddenly  a  number 
of  Indians  in  their  feathers  and  paint,  were  seen  outside.  They  took 
their  positions  in  a  circle  and  began  what  the  frightened  family 
supposed  was  a  "war  dance."  Mrs.  Conklin  sent  the  oldest  boy  for 
help,  a  hired  man  who  was  familiar  with  Indian  ways,  soon  pacified 
their  fears,  telling  them  it  was  a  "begging  dance"  and  that  they  were 
performing  for  something  to  eat.  Mrs.  Conklin,  very  much  relieved, 
gave  them  abundantly  of  provisions  and  with  hunger  satisfied,  they 
left  as  quietly  as  they  had  come.  The  worst  Indian  scare  the  writer 
ever  saw  was  when  Forbes  Homiston  came  out  of  the  back  door  of 
John  Reilly's  barber  shop,  with  drunken  Indians  at  his  heels,  when 
he,  as  an  officer  of  the  village,  was  trying  to  stop  their  noise.  Forbes 
did  succeed  in  reaching  the  street,  but  not  in  stopping  the  noise. 


The  Erving  Hotel,  opened  to  the  public  on  the  evening  of 
November  16,  1905,  has  a  history  not  all  its  own  by  any  means,  but 
in  location  and  building.  It  started  as  the  United  States  Cottage  in 
1848,  built  by  J.  J.  Driggs,  became  the  Globe  Hotel  in  1854,  by  A.  C. 
Ketcham,  the  American  House  in  1862,  by  Henry  Shattuck,  the 
Windsor  House  in  1886,  by  W.  Bittinger,  and  the  Erving  in  1905,  by 
C.  E.  Plum.  There  have  been  many  landlords,  some  of  long  posses- 
sion, some  short. 


WAS  A  GRAND  BIRD 


Wisconsin's  War  Eagle  "Old   Abe,"   One   of  the   Famous   Relics   of 
the  War,  Has  a  Grand  History. 


The  Eighth  Wisconsin  Infantry,  famous  in  the  war  as  the 
"Eagle  Regiment,"  was  largely  recruited  in  Sheboygan  county  but 
some  of  the  men  were  from  the  east  half  of  Fond  du  Lac  county, 
hence  it  possesses  some  local  claims.  The  company  that  brought 
"Old  Abe"  into  the  regiment,  however,  came  from  Eau  Claire 
county.  The  veterans  as  well  as  their  successors,  feel  a  lasting 
interest  in  the  noble  old  bird  and  are  glad  to  read  about  him,  and  it 
is  for  this  reason  that  we  give  space  here  to  his  history.  He  will  not 
be  forgotten  as  long  as  memory  holds  the  war  of  the  rebellion. 
The  eagle  is  our  national  symbol  and  we  will  venerate  the  bird  as 
long  as  he  remains  such. 

The  Eighth  was  known  as  the  "Eagle  regiment,"  from  the  fact 
that  a  live  eagle  was  carried  through  all  its  campaigns  up  to  the 
return  of  the  veterans  in  1864.  This  noble  bird  was  taken  from  the 
parent  nest  in  Chippewa  county  in  this  state  by  an  Indian,  who  dis- 
posed of  it  to  a  gentleman  of  Eau  Claire  county,  from  whom  it  was 
purchased  by  the  members  of  Captain  Perkins'  company,  Eau  Claire 
Eagles,  by  whom  it  was  presented  to  the  regiment  while  organizing 
in  1861.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  it  was  instantly  adopted  as  the 
regimental  pet  and  was  christened  "Old  Abe."  A  perch  was  prepared 
and  the  royal  bird  was  borne  with  the  regiment  on  all  its  marches 
and  into  every  battle  in  which  the  gallant  Eighth  was  engaged  up  to 
the  time  it  was  mustered  out.  Perched  on  his  standard  above  the 
heads  of  the  men,  the  bird  was  more  than  once  the  mark  for  rebel 
bullets,  but  luckily  escaped  unharmed,  with  the  exception  of  the  loss 
of  a  few  feathers,  shot  away.  He  returned  with  the  veterans  in  1864, 
and  was  presented  to  the  state,  and  placed  in  charge  of  the  quarter- 
master's department,  and  every  care  necessary  was  bestowed  upon 
him.  At  the  great  Chicago  Fair,  1865,  "Old  Abe"  was  exhibited  and 
his  photograph  disposed  of,  realizing  the  amount  of  about  $16,000. 
He  was  also  exhibited  at  the  INIilwaukee  Fair  with  profitable  results, 
we  are  told  that  the  sum  netted  to  the  charitable  objects  was  about 
$20,000.  He  occasionally  broke  from  his  fetters  and  soared  into  his 
native  element,  but  he  had  become  so  far  domesticated  that  he  was 
easily  recovered.  Occasionally  the  music  of  a  band  or  the  noise  of 
a  drum  would  reach  his  ear,  when  he  would  instantly  listen  and 
would  respond  with  his  characteristic  scream,  probably  recognizing 
the  strain  as  one  with  which  the  battlefield  had  made  his  ear  familiar. 
"Old  Abe"  was  celebrated  in  our  military  annals  and  his  history  is 
inextricably  interwoven  with  that  of  the  brave  and  gallant  regiment 
who  bore  him  triumphantly  through  the  field  of  strife. 

"Old  Abe"  was  taken  from  the  nest  in  Chippewa  county  in  the 


294  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

summer  of  i860,  so  he  could  have  been  but  about  one  year  old  when 
he  entered  the  army  in  1861,  and  as  he  died  in  1887,  he  lived  to  be 
twenty-seven  years  old.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  the  taxidermist  art 
was  brought  into  use  and  he  was  so  mounted  that  he  seemed  alive 
and  ready  for  a  campaign  as  of  old.  But  the  grand  bird  wholly  dis- 
appeared in  1903,  when  the  fire  took  place  in  the  capitol  in  Madison. 
He  was  not  exactly  cremated,  but  his  remains  were  burned  and  he 
will  be  no  more  seen  and  admired.  The  Eighth  Regiment  did  splen- 
did service  in  the  western  army  and  "Old  Abe"  was  a  prominent 
feature  in  all  its  campaigns  and  was  most  conspicuous  in  all  its 
fights.  All  citizens  of  Wisconsin,  as  well  as  soldiers,  deeply  regret 
that  he  is  to  be  seen  no  more. 


Early   Days  Hotels. 

Following  are  the  hotels  that  did  business  in  Fond  du  Lac  in 
early  times : 

Dr.  Darling's  log  house,  1840,  more  a  house  of  entertainment 
from  necessity  than  a  hotel,  on  West  First  street,  near  Main. 

Eagle  Hotel,  Fourth  and  Ellis,  1845. 

American  House,  at  the  landing,  1846. 

Hibbert  House,  West  Johnson  and  Doty,   1847. 

Hibernian  House,  Bannister  and  Doty,  1848. 

Gromme  House,  (German)  Main  and  Arndt,  1848. 

United  States  Cottage,  1848.  afterwards  the  Globe,  the  American, 
the  Windsor,  now  The  Erving. 

Lewis  House,  1848,  afterwards  the  Patty  House,  now  the  Palmer. 

City  Hotel,  1849.  Main  and  AVest  Second. 

Badger  Hotel,  1849,  Main  and  Western  AA-enue. 

Exchange  Hotel,  Main  opposite  end  of  Forest,  1850,  now  on 
Main  opposite  malt  house. 

Koehne  Hotel,  (German)   Main  and  Fourth,  1850. 

First  National  Hotel,  Fourth  and  Marr,  1867. 

Union  House,  Main  and  Fifth,  1874. 

After  i860  the  hotels  increased  rapidly,  and  from  1880  Fond  du 
Lac  has  had  more  than  was  really  needed.  Of  the  old  time  hotels 
only  the  Palmer,  the  Windsor  and  Exchange  remain. 


Black  Hawk  Lived  Here. 

It  is  probably  known  to  few  people  now  living,  that  the  great 
Indian  warrior.  Black  Hawk,  once  lived  in  this  county.  What  has 
of  late  years  been  known  as  Grand  Prairie,  in  the  center  of  the  town 
of  Alto,  was  in  early  times  called  Black  Hawk  Prairie,  and  it  was 
here  that  the  great  Indian  warrior  of  that  name  lived,  and  drifted 
from  that  region  southward  into  Illinois,  especially  to  the  region  of 
Galena  and  of  \A'isconsin's  Grant  County.  In  the  town  of  Alto 
there  was  for  some  years  a  postofifice  bearing  his  name. 


PUT  INTO  THE  BOX 


What  Was  Put  Into  the  Box  at  the  Time  the  Corner  Stone  of  the 
Public  Library  Was  Laid. 


The  list  as  read  was : 

Name  of  the  president  of  the  United  States  and  his  cabinet. 

The  governor  and  lieutenant  governor  of  Wisconsin. 

Our  United  States  senators. 

Our  member  of  congress. 

Our  state  senator. 

Our  member  of  the  assembly. 

The  mayor  of  the  city  of  Fond  du  Lac. 

Copies  of  all  records  of  the  library  board,  which  relate  to  the 
new  library  building. 

Under  this  head,  President  Hoskins  said,  in  part : 

"The  first  is  a  communication  from  Laura  B.  Williams  and  Anna 
G.  Sweet,  transferring  to  the  library  board  a  copy  of  Mr.  Carnegie's 
letter,  and  tendering  to  us  these  lots  on  which  the  building  is  being 
erected.  Mr.  Carnegie's  letter  is  next  on  the  mintes,  and  is  as  follows: 
"'Mrs.  L.  A.  Bishop,  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.  Madam:  Responding 
to  your  letters :  If  the  city  of  Fond  du  Lac  will  pledge  itself  to  sup- 
port a  free  public  library  at  a  cost  of  not  less  than  three  thousand 
dollars  a  year  and  provide  a  suitable  site,  Mr.  Carnegie  will  be  glad 
to  furnish  thirty  thousand  dollars  to  erect  a  free  public  library  build- 
ing.   Respectfully  yours,  James  Bertram,  private  secretary.'  " 

Mr.  Galloway's  resolution  was  then  read,  accepting  the  gift  and 
thanking  the  W^oman's  Club. 

"Under  the  minutes  of  March  4,"  said  Mr.  Hoskins,  "is  a  com- 
munication from  the  Woman's  CUib,  beautifully  prepared  and 
reading  as  follows : 

"  'To  the  library  board  of  the  city  of  Fond  du  Lac :  Greeting. 
The  Woman's  Club  presents  to  you  as  library  trustees  for  the  city 
of  Fond  du  Lac,  this  deed  to  a  piece  of  land  to  be  used  perpetually 
as  a  site  for  a  free  public  library.  This  gift  from  the  citizens  attests 
their  appreciation  of  ]\Ir.  Carnegie's  generosity  to  the  city  of  Fond 
du  Lac'  " 

Attention  was  called  to  the  few  conditions  named  by  Mr.  Car- 
negie, and  the  president  of  the  board  read  the  following: 

"  'Hoboken,  N.  J.,  March  3,  1902.  Mr.  F.  B.  Hoskins,  president 
of  Fond  du  Lac  public  library:  Dear  Sir: — In  response  to  your  favor 
of  the  13th,  inst.,  would  say  that  I  have  been  instructed  by  Mr.  Car- 
negie to  make  payments  to  the  extent  of  $30,000  for  a  library  building 
at  Fond  du  Lac,  and  I  will  be  pleased'  to  make  remittances  to  this 
extent  in  amounts  of  $5,000  each  from  time  to  time,  as  needed  to 
carry   on   the   work   of   construction   of   the   building.      Requests   for 


296  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

remittances  should  be  signed  by  the  president  and  treasurer  of  your 
library  board  and  the  architect's  certificate  enclosed,  to  the  effect 
that' bills  to  the  extent  of  $5,000  are  due  on  the  building.  Yours  very 
truly.  R.  A.  Franks.'  " 

The  reading  of  the  list  of  documents  entering  the  receptacle  was 
then  completed : 

Copy  of  minutes  of  proceedings  of  common  council  relating  to 
new  library  building. 

Copy  of  ordinance  accepting  Mr.  Carnegie's  gift. 

List  of  all  city  officials. 

List  of  members  of  common  council. 

List  of  school  commissioners. 

List  of  officers,  employes  and  directors  of  library. 

List  of  officers  and  directors  of  library  for  each  year  from  organi- 
zation to  date. 

Copy  of  a  letter  from  Miss  E.  Rose,  librarian,  to  Congressional 
library  at  Washington  ;  a  history  of  the  library  movement  in  Fond 
du  Lac. 

Standing  committees  of  common  council. 

Standing  committees  of  board  of  education. 

Standing  committees  of  the  library  board. 

Copy  of  "Fond  du  Lac  Illustrated." 

Last  edition  of  Daily  Commonwealth. 

Copy  of  Semi-Weekly  Commonwealth. 

Last  edition  of  Daily  Reporter. 

Copy  of  Saturday  Reporter. 

Last  edition  of  Northwestern  Courier. 

Rules  and  regulations  of  library. 

Catalogues,  finding  lists  of  library  books. 

City  directory. 

Cathedral   souvenir. 

Woman's  Club  year  book. 

Names  of  officers,  standing  and  special  committees  and  chairmen 
of  same  of  Woman's  Club  of  Fond  du  Lac. 

History  of  library  work  of  Woman's  Club. 

Letter  from  Mrs.  Waldo  Sweet,  secretary,  to  Mr.  Carnegie. 

Constitution  of  Woman's  Club. 

List  of  contributors  to  library  site. 

St.  Agnes'  Hospital,  Souvenir. 

Daily  Reporter,  March  7,  1903,  containing  history  of  St.  Joseph's 
Chvirch.  its  early  missions. 

Pictures  of  St.  Mary's  Springs  Sanitarium. 

Blanks  and  forms  now  in  use. at  the  public  library. 

The  Corner  Stone  Laid. 

Following  the  reading  of  the  list  of  articles  consigned  to  the 
metal  box,  the  corner  stone  was  swung  into  place.  President  Hoskins 
wielding  the  trowel  with  which  the  mortar  was  applied.  This  trowel 
is  to  be  plated  with  silver,  appropriately  engraved  and  presented  to 
the  Woman's  Club  as  a  souvenir  of  the  occasion. 


COUNTY  ORGANIZATION 


Fond  du  Lac  a  Part  of  Brown   County  and  Winnebago   a   Part  of 
Fond  du  Lac  County  in  the  Original  Arrangement. 


The  division  of  Brown  county,  by  which  Fond  du  Lac  came  into 
existence,  was  long  after  such  an  arrangement  had  been  talked  of, 
in  other  words,  it  was  known  as  Fond  du  Lac  before  it  had  a  legal 
existence.  And  the  same  was  true  about  Winnebago  county,  which 
was  a  part  of  Fond  du  Lac  before  its  independent  legal  existence. 
A  division  of  counties  was  a  common  occurrence  in  the  early  history 
of  the  state.  In  the  division  of  the  counties  into  towns,  the  process 
was  similar — territory  was  divided  and  new  names  taken,  as  pleased 
the  tastes  of  the  people.  The  name  Fond  du  Lac  came  from  the 
French  traders  and  existed  as  a  tangible  designation  of  territory  long 
before  the  county  had  a  legal  existence.  It  was  a  county,  however, 
early  enough  to  be  represented  in  all  of  the  territorial  assemblages 
but  one,  and  took  an  active  part  in  making  the  state  constitution 
before  our  admission  to  the  Union  as  a  state. 

When  in  December,  1836,  a  certain  portion  of  territory  of 
Brown  county  was  designated  as  a  new  county  and  called  Fond  du 
Lac,  no  provision  was  made  for  its  organization.  It  had  not  a 
sulhcient  population.  There  was,  indeed,  but  one  family  residing 
within  its  designated  boundaries.  All  that  could  be  done  was  to 
say  where  its  county  seat  should  be.  and  that  the  county  should  be 
attached  to  some  other  county  for  judicial  purposes.  The  county 
seat  was  "established  at  the  town  of  Fond  du  Lac,"  and  the  county 
was  "attached  to  the  county  of  Brown  for  judicial  purposes." 
Finally  by  an  act  of  the  Territorial  Legislature,  adopted  March  11, 
1839,  the  county  was  to  be  organized,  but  "for  the  purposes  of  county 
government  only,"  it  was  still  to  remain  a  part  of  Brown  county  for 
all  judicial  purposes.  An  election  was  held  August  6,  1839,  resulting 
in  the  choice  of  John  Bannister,  Edward  Pier  and  Reuben  Simmons 
as  Commissioners,  A.  Raymond,  Treasurer,  and  J.  Bannister, 
Register.  The  commissioners  organized  their  board  on  the  9th  of 
October  following,  by  electing  Reuben  Simmons,  Chairman,  and 
Mason  C.  Darling,  Clerk.  Upon  the  entering  of  these  officers  upon 
their  respective  duties,  the  county  of  Fond  du  Lac  was  organized 
for  all  but  judicial  purposes,  and  began  its  onward  career  of  pros- 
perity. It  was  not  until  from  and  after  the  first  Monday  of  March, 
1844,  that  Fond  du  Lac  county  was  fully  organized. 

Until  1840,  the  Indians  in  this  county  outnumbered  the  whites 
at  least  ten  to  one ;  they  were  generally  friendly,  bringing  venison 
and  other  game,  wild  honey  and  skins  for  sale  or  exchange :  but 
sometimes  they  would  kill  hogs  that  they  never  paid  for,  and  had  a 
way  of  setting  the  woods  on  fire  while  hunting  deer,  burning  up  fences 


298  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

and  pastures.  In  1840,  John  Bannister  took  the  United  States  census 
and  the  numtfer  of  whites  of  all  ages  was  139,  all  told,  in  Fond  du 
Lac  county. 

Being  organized  by  law  in  1844  for  all  purposes,  including 
judicial,  we  had  courts  six  years  before  we  had  a  -court  house,  but 
Judge  Stow  did  not  object  to  holding  court  in  a  school  house.  He 
would  no  doubt,  have  dealt  out  the  law  from  his  rickety  old  wagon 
on  the  street,  if  there  had  been  no  better  place.  He  was  not  noted 
for  having  things  very  nice,  even  at  his  home,  but  he  was  a  good 
judge  for  all  that.  The  county  courts  did  not  have  civil  jurisdiction 
until  many  years  later  and  did  not  need  a  court  house  for  only  pro- 
bate business.  The  county  officers  were  quartered  in  rented  rooms 
in  the  village.  The  jail  was  of  logs,  from  which  a  modern  hobo 
could  escape  in  from  five  to  fifteen  minutes. 

The  settlers  generally  brought  with  them  clothing  enough  to 
last  a  year  or  two ;  but  in  spite  of  all  the  good  wife  could  do  in  the 
way  of  mending  and  patching,  it  could  not  last  forever.  Everything 
is  perishable  in  this  world  and  somehow  clothes  have  a  wicked  way 
of  being  most  perishable  of  all ;  after  a  while  the  original  garments 
would  not  bear  the  patches.  What  was  to  be  done?  Good  looks 
will  hardly  pay  for  a  new  suit,  especially  in  a  country  where  there  are 
no  stores.  So  it  came  to  pass  that  the  settlers  bought  from  the 
Indians  buckskin  coats,  without  being  too  particular  about  their 
being  second  hand  articles  and  smelling  smoky.  Almost  every  one 
of  the  early  settlers  sported  his  Indian  coat  in  those  days,  but  they 
looked  neither  dandy  nor  very  dignified.  Even  the  grave  old  doctor, 
who  founded  the  city  of  Fond  du  Lac,  wore  one  of  the  things  at 
times,  he  did  not  look  like  a  learned  doctor,  but  like  an  Indian 
doctor,  the  Indians  called  him  Mushkiki-enini,  the  medicine  man. 
The  pants  were  often  made  of  buckskin  also,  more  frequently  the 
latter  garment  was  faced  with  buckskin  over  the  front,  which  opera- 
tion gave  it  a  longer  lease  of  life  and  usefulness  and  like  charity, 
threw  a  mantle  over  many  failings.  Could  you  now  see  those 
courageous  and  worthy  men,  many  of  whom  have  reached  their  last 
resting  places,  leaving  honored  names  and  good  deeds  behind  them, 
file  down  Main  street  on  a  busy  day,  it  would  no  doubt  provoke  a 
smile,  but  with  them  it  was  the  result  of  sheer  necessity. 

What  about  their  fare?  Milk  and  butter  they  had  in  abundance, 
and  also  pork  and  excellent  potatoes.  They  had  enough  coarse  food, 
but  as  you  know,  variety  is  the  spice  of  life,  and  to  eat  constantly 
pork  and  potatoes  and  beans  is  apt  to  become  monotonous  in  the  end. 
George  W.  Featherstonehaugh,  of  Calumet,  said  that  he  had  fed  so 
constantly  on  pork,  that  he  could  not  look  a  hog  in  the  face  without 
feeling  guilty  and  blushing.  Tea  and  cofifee  were  quite  scarce 
articles,  as  well  as  sugar,  and  were  not  used  freely,  although  a  little 
was  kept  for  company.  The  country  was  ransacked  for  substitutes. 
Even  such  articles  as  wheat,  barley,  peas,  beans,  dandelion  roots, 
crust  coffee  and  many  other  substitutes  were  resorted  to  and 
dignified  with  the  name  of  tea  and  cofifee,  but  when  you  came  to 
taste,  especially  without  sugar,  the  fraud  was  too  palpable  and  would 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  299 

not  go  down,  in  spite  of  all  assurances  that  the  drink  was  very 
healthy  indeed,  far  more  so  than  the  real  articles,  which  as  every- 
body knows  are  notoriously  injurious  to  the  system. 

Every  family  knew  pretty  accurately  the  condition  of  the  neigh- 
bors' flour  or  pork  barrel  and  supply  of  groceries.  In  case  of  sudden 
emergencies,  some  youngster  was  dispatched  to  the  neighbors  with 
compliments  and  request  of  the  loan  of  a  cupful  of  tea  or  some  sugar, 
a  few  pounds  of  pork  or  a  pan  full  of  flour  for  a  few  days. 


Old  Timers  on  the  Board. 

At  each  recurring  session  of  the  County  Board  of  Supervisors, 
old  time  citizens  do  not  fail  to  think  of  some  men  who  were  once 
there.  He  reads  the  list  in  the  newspapers,  but  fails  to  see  the  names 
he  was  once  so  familiar  with.  Year  after  year  the  familiar  faces  ap- 
peared, the  various  towns  deeming  it  prudent  to  return  the  same  men 
to  the  board.  Experienced  as  they  were  it  was  safer  than  to  send 
new  men  without  experience.  At  the  present  time  a  majority  of  new 
men  appear  on  the  board  each  year,  but  the  old  timers  had  a  different 
policy.  Among  the  old  time  members  we  could  hear  the  roll  call  of 
the  clerk  on  such  names  as : 

Daniel  D.  Wilcox,  Dr.  S.  G.  Pickett,  Henry  Crownhart  and  Peter 
Johnson,  from  Ashford. 

L.  Crouch.  R.  F.  Adams,  Charles  D.  Gage  and  Harvey  Parsons, 
from  Auburn. 

James  McElroy,  R.  AI.  Harwood  and  Daniel  Wilcox,  from  Alto. 

^^'illiam  Stewart,  D.  C.  Brooks  and  Benj.  Nightengale,  from 
Byron. 

John  Boyd,  Rufus  P.  Eaton  and  George  White,  from  Calumet. 

Aaron  AValters.  Peter  Vandervoort  and  William  Stewart,  from 
Eden. 

M.  S.  Barnett,  A.  T.  Germond  and  G.  de  Neveu,  from   Empire. 

Edward  Pier,  S.  N.  Hawes  and  J.  C.  Lewis,  from  Fond  du  Lac. 

Hestor  Monroe,  Joseph  Kinsman  and  Theodore  Herrling,  from 
Friendship. 

Harry  Giltner,  Joseph  Wagner  and  J.  W.  Hall,  from   Forest. 

Peter  V.  Sang,  Fay  S.  Brown  and  Dr.  Elliott  Brown,  from 
Lamartine. 

Robt.  Jenkinson.  G.  W.  Parker,  Capt.  ^^^illiam  Plocker,  from 
Metomen. 

W.  J.  Ripley.  H.  D.  Hitt  anl  Isaac  Orvis,  from  Oakfield. 

C.  N.  Prescott,  John  Beeson  and  J.  W.  Whiting,  from  Osceola. 

Lester  Rounds,  \\'arren  Chase,  T.  B.  Robbins  and  A.  B.  Beards- 
ley,  from  Ripon. 

Jonathan  Dougherty,  Bertine  Pinkney,  Geo.  D.  Curtis  and  H. 
G.  Halsted,  from  Rosendale. 

Warren  Whiting,  Geo.  F.  AA'heeler  and  A.  C.  \\'hiting,  from 
Springvale. 

O.  R.  Potter,  J.  Y.  Westervelt  and  Chas.  Geisse,  from  Taychee- 
dah. 


300  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

N.  M.  Donaldson,  S.  R.  Vaughn  and  D.  W.  Whiting,  from 
Waupun. 

E.  S.  Bragg,  Dr.  E.  Delaney,  George  Hunter,  Henry  Shattuck, 
H.  P.  Brown,  S.  B.  Amory,  C.  O.  Bissell  and  J.  M.  Taylor  were  among 
those  from  the  City  of  Fond  du  Lac,  frequently  seen  at  the  county 
board  sessions  in  old  times. 

Among  the  earliest  from  the  city  of  Ripon,  were  William  Starr, 
W.  R.  Kingsbury.  C.  P.  Dunning,  Capt.  D.  P.  Mapes,  L.  M.  Carlisle, 
D.  P.  Imson  and  S.  G.  Dodge. 

The  towns  of  Eldorado  and  Marshfield  did  not  have  an  existence 
until  1854.  H.  W.  Wolcott  was  the  earliest  member  from  Eldorado, 
and  Joseph  Wagner  represented  Marshfield  almost  continuously 
from  its  organization  as  a  town,  until  his  death  in  1874. 

William  Stewart  was  a  member  from  Byron  and  Eden  nine 
years,  and  was  the  longest  in  service  except  S.  B.  Stanchfield,  of  the 
town  of  Fond  du  Lac,  who  has  served  twenty-two  years,  and  chair- 
man of  the  county  board  six  years. 


Abstracts  and  Land  Titles. 

The  first  books  in  this  county  from  which  abstracts  of  land  titles 
were  made,  were  compiled  by  N.  H.  Jorgensen,  our  third  Register  of 
Deeds.  He  sold  them  to  Dana  C.  Lamb,  afterwards  Lamb  &  Smead, 
and  after  some  years  they  were  sold  to  C.  L.  Encking.  What  became 
of  them  after  his  death,  no  one  seems  to  know,  but  they  had  become 
so  old  and  worn  that  they  were  of  little  value  to  anybody.  James  T. 
Green,  "Sandy"  Leland,  and  two  or  three  others,  made  "skeletons"  of 
abstract  books.  The  last  few  years  of  his  life,  Mr.  Green  depended 
largely  on  the  books  in  the  ofhce  of  the  Register  of  Deeds.  For  many 
years  W.  E.  Angel  did  the  abstract  work  in  the  Register's  office  and 
was  remarkably  efhcient  in  it.  H.  W.  Newton  has  been  doing  this 
work  a  number  of  years  and  is  at  it  yet.  No  man  in  the  county  has 
as  thorough  a  knowledge  of  the  real  estate  as  Mr.  Newton.  Some 
years  ago  a  set  of  abstract  books  was  made  by  Wm.  E.  Cole,  and  the 
ofhce  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  Title  and  Abstract  Company  is  still  at  the 
Savings  Bank.  The  books  of  the.  Fond  du  Lac  County  Title  and 
Abstract  Company,  were  made  by  Chadbourne  &  Sallade,  and  are 
now  kept  at  the  law  office  of  Williams,  Griswold  &  Chadbourne. 
There  are  a  few  others  who  furnish  abstracts,  but  they  rely  mainly 
upon  the  books  in  the  Register's  ofhce. 


Not  Made  Here  Since, 

Alonzo  Simmons  was  an  early  days'  chairmaker  in  this  city  and 
had  a  shop  just  north  of  the  present  Erving  Hotel,  and  the  way  he 
used  to  rattle  out  the  plank  bottomed,  then  called  Windsor  chairs, 
was  astonishing.  It  is  doubtful,  however,  if  such  a  chair  has  been 
made  here  since  "Lon"  closed  his  shop,  which  was  when  he  went  to 
the  war.  The  settlers  took  them  away  about  as  fast  as  he  could 
make  them. 


ABORIGINES  FROM  1764 


Something    About    the    Red    Men    of '  This    Region    More    Than    a 

Century  Ago.     Who  Were  They  and  Where 

Did  They  Live? 


It  is  a  matter  of  much  interest  to  know  what  tribes  of  Indians 
roamed  this  region  more  than  a  century  ago,  and  where  they  lived. 
We  often  read  about  tribes  before  the  days  of  the  Winnebagoes  and 
Menomonees,  the  tribes  our  pioneer  families  knew,  and  we 
see  the  tribal  names,  but  that  is  about  all  we  know.  It  is  here 
attempted  to  give  the  reader  some  interesting  information  concerning 
these  Indians.  They  are  nearly  all  out  of  existence  now.  Like  the 
trees  of  the  forest,  they  do  not  bear  civilization — they  die  when 
their  habits  are  interfered  with.  The  once  powerful  Winnebagoes  are 
now  nearly  extinct,  and  the  older  tribes  that  roamed  over  what  is 
now  Fond  du  Lac  county,  are  all  gone.  We  can  now  only  read  about 
them  as  they  once  were,  for  they  have  no  existence. 

As  early  as  the  year  1615,  Samuel  Champlin  heard  of  a  tribe  of 
Indians  living  many  leagues  beyond  Lake  Huron,  called  the  Five 
Nations,  better  known  at  a  later  date  as  the  Moscoutins.  Their  homes 
were  upon  the  Fox  river,  at  that  time,  as  it  is  believed,  and  here  they 
were  visited  by  civilized  men  a  little  over  a  half  century  after.  It  is 
presumed  that  their  village  was  located  within  the  present  limits  of 
Green  Lake  county,  somewhere  on  the  Fox  river  between  Berlin  and 
Lake  Puckaway,  and  that  they  claimed  as  their  hunting  grounds, 
among  much  other  territory  that  now  is  included  within  the  boundary 
lines  of  the  county  of  Fond  du  Lac.  The  nearest  tribe  to  the  Mos- 
coutins down  the  river  was  that  of  the  Winnebagoes,  whose  home 
was  at  the  mouth  of  that  stream.  To  the  south,  extending  perhaps 
well  up  Rock  River,  was  the  territory  of  the  Illinois.  In  the  imme- 
diate neighborhood  of  the  Moscoutin  (but  in  what  direction  is  uncer- 
tan)  were  the  Kickapoos  and  Miamis,  the  former  is  supposed  to  have 
at  one  time  occupied  the  region  around  the  head  of  the  lake. 

The  Illinois,  who  lived  in  a  country  "where  there  was  a  quantity 
of  buffaloes,"  were  afterwards  driven  beyond  the  Mississippi,  but 
subsequently  returned  to  the  river  which  still  bears  their  name. 
Meanwhile  there  commenced  an  emigration  of  the  ]\Ioscoutins  and 
their  kindred,  the  Kickapoos  and  Miamis,  to  the  southward,  as  far 
at  least  as  the  south  end  of  Lake  Michigan.  This  place  was  taken  by 
the  Foxes  and  their  relatives,  the  Sacs,  and  in  time,  these  also 
emigrated,  but  not  to  the  southward ;  the  course  taken  by  them  was 
to  the  west  and  southwest.  It  is  certain  the  Foxes  claimed  for  a 
time  the  country  now  forming  Fond  du  Lac  county,  as  well  as  much 
other  circumjacent  territory.  Then  came  the  Winnebagoes  from 
below,  that  is,  from  the  head  of  Green  Bay,  moving  up  the  Fox  river 


302  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

by  degrees,  having  outlying  villages  within  the  present  limits  of 
Fond  du  Lac  county  and  in  the  valley  of  Rock  River.  The  Menom- 
onees  also  occupied  the  Winnebago  Lake  country.  This  territory 
was  on  the  east  side  of  the  lake,  but  did  not  extend  very  far  south. 
The  southeast  portion  of  the  present  county  of  Fond  du  Lac  lay 
within  territory  claimed  by  the  Pottowottomies,  whose  homes  were 
principally  upon  Lake  Michigan.  A  small  part  of  the  county  was 
•ceded  to  the  L^nited  States  by  the  Menomonees.  A  much  larger 
portion,  however,  was  comprised  in  the  land  sold  by  the  Winnebagoes 
in  1832.  The  residue  was  included  in  the  Pottowottomies  cession  of 
1833.  In  1828,  the  Winnebago  nation  occupied  the  country  immedi- 
ately in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  city  of  Fond  du  Lac,  and  along 
the  west  shore  of  Lake  Winnebago  to  what  is  now  the  city  of 
Menasha.  They  then  had  large  villages  on  each  branch  of  the  Fond 
du  Lac  river  just  above  the  forks.  They  also  had  a  village  at  the 
mouth  of  the  creek  on  the  side  of  the  lake  near  Taycheedah.  The 
Menomonee  village  of  Calumet  ("Pipe  Village")  even  as  early  as 
1817,  seemed  to  be  anything  but  of  recent  origin.  Its  location  was 
not  identical  with  the  village  of  the  same  name  in  the  present  town 
of  Calumet.  The  exact  time  when  these  three  villages  were  finally 
vacated  by  these  Indian  occupants,  is  not  known  with  certainty, 
though  in  1834,  they  were  found  by  the  government  surveyors  un- 
occupied. 

In  the  last  years  of  the  occupancy  of  this  region  by  the  Indians, 
they  wdre  rovers.  They  seemed  to  have  no  fixed  homes.  Even  the 
Menomonees,  the  last  of  our  Indians,  roamed  back  and  forth  between 
Milwaukee  and  Shawano  county.  What  is  now  left  of  them  have 
their  home  on  the  reservation  at  Keshena.  The  Winnebagoes  are 
near  Black  River  Falls.  Only  a  few  years  more  and  there  will  be 
none  left  to  recite  the  legends  or  tell  of  their  former  national  glory. 

Black  Hawk  Lived  Here. 

For  many  years  we  have  heard  much  about  Black  Hawk,  without 
knowing  much  about  him,  where  he  lived  or  when  or  what  was  his 
career.  It  is  probably  known  to  few  that  Black  Hawk  once  resided 
in  the  town  of  Alto,  Fond  du  Lac  county.  He  was  the  last  of  the 
great  Indian  warriors.  About  1768,  in  a  village  of  Sac  Indians,  on 
the  Mississippi,  near  Rock  River,  he  was  born  October  3.  In  1838, 
Black  Hawk  died.  In  the  war  of  1812,  Black  Hawk,  then  a  leading 
chief  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  took  the  English  side.  After  the  war  he 
resisted  the  encroachments  of  white  settlers  and  provoked  several 
paltry  conflicts,  but  was  subdued  and  captured  in  1832.  The  tribe 
was  removed,  but  Black  Hawk  and  his  sons  and  a  few  warriors  were 
kept  awhile  as  hostages,  and  brought  as  a  show  to  eastern  cities. 
Here  it  was  that  he  made  the  reputation  so  well  known  to  white 
people. 

Early  French  Traders. 

Frenchmen  from  Canada  trading  with  the  Indians,  were  early 
visitors  to  what  is  now  Fond  du  Lac  county.  The  name  Fond  du 
Lac  was  applied  by  them  as  the  remotest  point  in  the  lake  from  Green 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  303 

Bay.  There  was  a  trading  post  established  in  1787,  at  the  forks  of 
the  Fond  dn  Lac  river  by  Jacob  Franks,  of  Green  Bay.  It  was 
occupied  by  Jacques  Daltier,  Frank's  clerk,  for  a  brief  period. 
Franks,  in  1791,  sent  his  nephew,  John  Law,  to  this  point.  Augustin 
Grignon  subsequently  had  a  trading  post  on  the  West  Branch,  the 
spot  where  the  shops  of  the  Northwestern  Railway,  in  the  city  of 
Fond  du  Lac  and  near  what  was  afterward  the  Fond  du  Lac  house. 
Peter  B.  Grignon,  formerly  a  venerable  resident  of  Green  Bay,  and  a 
nephew  of  Augustin  Grignon,  passed  one  winter  on  the  West  Branch, 
just  below  First  street,  1819.  The  cellar  of  his  shanty,  partially 
overgrown  by  willows,  could  be  seen  when  ''the  village  was  finally 
settled.  It  was  situated  not  far  from  the  Gurney  Refrigerator  plant, 
between  Forest  avenue  and  West  Division  street.  It  seems  also, 
that  at  the  Winnebago  village  near  where  Taycheedah  now  is  located, 
white  men  came  for  the  purpose  of  trading  with  the  Indians.  At  this 
point  the  Menomonees,  Pottowottomies  and  other  tribes,  came  to 
traffic  with  the  Frenchmen.  The  Indians,  whose  trade  was  then 
sought,  were  the  Winnebagoes,  who  had  a  village  where  Taycheedah 
now  is,  three  miles  east  of  Fond  du  Lac  city  and  had  other  villages. 
Mr.  Law  afterward  spent  several  winters  at  different  points  among 
the  Indian  hunting  bands  between  Green  Bay  and  the  Mississippi 
and  up  to  the  time  when  his  uncle  left  the  country  and  went  back  to 
Canada,  which  was  about  the  beginning  of  the  war  1812,  leaving  Mr. 
Law  as  his  successor  as  a  merchant  and  trader,  and  he  continued 
more  or  less,  in  the  Indian  trade  as  long  as  he  lived. 

Sometimes  the  traders  carried  their  packs  of  merchandise  upon 
their  backs  from  Green  Bay.  Solomon  Juneau  would  occasionally 
leave  his  home  where  the  city  of- Milwaukee  now  stands,  with  eighty 
pounds  weight  upon  his  back,  going  to  Sheboygon  and  thence  to 
Lake  AMnnebago,  returning  by  the  way  of  the  villages  at  the  head  of 
the  lake.  This  primitive  mode  of  transportation  has  been  improved 
upon  between  those  points  since  that  time. 

These  French  voygeurs  or  traders  were  of  a  remarkable  hardy 
race.  Outdoor  exposure  and  the  rigors  of  winter  were  nothing  to 
them.  In  making  their  trips  to  the  Indian  villages  and  settlements, 
they  used  boats  if  possible,  but  the  Indian  trail  was  their  principal 
highway.  These  were  but  paths  and  vehicles  could  not  be  used. 
Sometimes  ponies  were  brought  into  use  and  the  packs  were  then 
transferred  from  man  to  beast.  The  main  article  of  frontier  commerce 
dsired  was  furs,  and  to  secure  these,  penetrated  the  west  in  the 
eighteenth  century  to  the  Missouri  in  our  present  North  Dakota. 
Among  those  who  came  to  this  region  in  the  early  thirties,  were 
Solomon  Juneau,  Joseph  King,  Louis  Russell  and  others. 


After  disposing  of  the  Lewis  House,  the  home  of  Col.  James 
Ewen  and  family,  was  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Forest  avenue  and 
Harrison  Place,  at  that  time  known  as  Ewen  street.  Here  the  five 
boys,  John,  Milton,  James,  Frank  and  Edward,  and  his  two  daughters, 
Alaria  and  Isabella,  came  to  manhood  and  womanhood. 


304  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Indian  Took  His  Dog. 

Mark  Little  cannot  tell  you  from  observation  about  the  Indian 
taking  his  dog,  for  he  was  not  present,  but  his  brother,  Egbert  Little, 
was  there  and  saw  it  all.  These  men  were  boys  then  and  lived  in  the 
family  of  their  father,  W.  C.  Little,  at  the  family  home  on  Scott 
street,  near  Brooke.  Mark  had  a  dog  which  he  provided  quarters  for 
in  the  back  yard.  James  B.  Clock,  the  afterwards  well  known  rail- 
road conductor  and  father  of  Mrs.  H.  F.  Whitcomb,  lived  across  the 
street.  One  day  a  tall  Indian  came  along  and  seeing  the  way  clear, 
sneaked  into  the  back  yard  of  the  Little  home  and  stole  Mark's  dog. 
Mr.  Clock,  across  the  street,  saw  the  Indian's  sneak  and  big  as  he  was, 
went  for  him  with  vigorous  kicks,  which  he  kept  up  all  the  way  to 
the  old  float  bridge,  where  the  Indian  had  his  canoe.  Egbert  says 
the  most  laughable  part  of  the  afTair  was  the  Indian  trying  to  turn 
while  all  the  time  talking  Indian.  Clock  did  not  care  so  much  for 
the  dog  as  he  did  to  punish  the  Indian  for  a  back  yard  sneak,  and  so 
he  got  away  with  the  dog.  Egbert  says  he  is  not  sure  that  the  dog 
really  belonged  to  Mark,  anyway. 


Fond  du  Lac  File  Works. 

This  is  a  plant  which  has  existed  here  many  years,  at  the  south- 
west corner  of  Johnson  and  Doty  streets.  Though  making  little  stir, 
the  concern  does  a  large  amount  of  work.  Henry  Scherer,  the 
proprietor,  is  a  practical  filemaker  and  turns  out  files  of  all  the 
varieties  in  general  use,  but  mostly  those  used  in  shops  and  mills,  and 
the  work  done  comes  from  neighboring  places  as  well  as  Fond  du 
Lac.  Few  new  files  are  ground  here.  Old  files  have  the  teeth  ground 
off,  so  that  they  are  smooth,  and  then  they  are  recut  and  tempered 
for  use  again.     It  is  a  busy  place. 


Stone  Cutting  by  Air  Pressure. 

The  cutting  of  hard  granite  for  cemetery  work  cannot  be  done 
successfully  with  chisel  and  mallet,  and  as  granite  is  now  generally 
used  in  place  of  marble,  as  of  old,  other  processes  must  be  used. 
Robert  Powrie  opened  here  in  1867,  and  in  his  shop  are  the  modern 
appliances.  The  polishing  process  is  interesting,  but  the  air  pressure 
cutting  is  more  so.  Instead  of  thirty  or  forty  blows  a  minute,  it 
strikes  3,000.  The  air  pressure  is  applied  by  a  compressor  run  by  a 
gasoline  engine.  In  this  way  only  can  the  hard  granite  be  handled 
successfully. 


J.  J.  Driggs  built  the  house  still  at  the  east  corner  of  Western 
avenue  and  Linden  streets,  at  a  time  when  residences  of  that  size  and 
style  were  not  numerous  in  Fond  du  Lac.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Driggs  both 
died  there.  During  his  life  here,  "Squire"  Driggs  had  many  buildings 
erected,  including  this  one  and  the  Cottage,  now  The  Erving. 


THE  MACHINE  SHOPS 


Foundries  and  Machine  Shops  Not  Numerous,  But  Most  of  Them 
Very  Good  Ones  and  Long  Lived. 


Manufacture  of  Machinery. 

After  the  lake  steamboat  Manchester  was  overhauled  and  the 
name  changed  to  Oshkosh,  it  was  found  that  the  machinery  was  in- 
adequate and  improperly  adjusted.  The  boat  was  taken  from  the 
water  at  the  foot  of  Arndt  street,  to  be  overhauled.  At  this  time, 
too,  there  was  some  demand  for  machine  work  in  connection  with 
mills,  and  here  it  was  that  Truman  Shepard,  John  B.  Wilbor  and  T. 
S.  Henry  started  the  first  foundry  and  machine  shop.  This  was  in 
1848.  Tools  and  machinery  were  added  from  time  to  time,  the  most 
of  it  second  hand  from  different  lake  ports.  In  1850,  John  Peacock 
and  Alex.  White  acquired  the  ownership  of  the  shops  and  continued 
it  under  the  firm  name  of  Peacock  &  White,  until  i860,  when  W.  H. 
Hiner  became  one  of  the  proprietors  and  the  name  was  changed  to 
Union  Iron  W^orks,  which  continued  many  years  and  until  bought 
by  the  Trowbridges  and  became  a  part  of  the  Novelty  Iron  Works, 
which  have  continued  until  the  present,  but  under  the  ownership  of 
several  firms.  Col.  C.  H.  DeGroat,  George  Giddings  and  O.  F,  Lewis 
being  longest  in  possession,  under  the  firm  name  of  DeGroat,  Gid- 
dings &  Lewis.  During  their  ownership  of  about  thirty  years,  they 
very  largely  increased  the  plant  in  every  detail.  The  buildings  were 
doubled  in  size,  and  everything  for  the  business  supplied  in  great 
variety.  They  gave  special  attention  to  sawmill  machinery,  which 
found  a  market  from  Maine  to  Texas.  To  facilitate  the  handling  of 
the  heavy  material  and  machinery,  railroad  tracks  run  into  the  yards 
and  to  the  warehouses. 

The  illness  of  Col.  DeGroat,  which  ended  in  his  death  in  August, 
1904,  caused  his  withdrawal  from  the  works  and  it  was  then  incor- 
porated under  the  name  of  Giddings  &  Lewis  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, a  title  it  still  bears,  with  C.  E.  Cleveland  as  President,  and 
Henry  Rueping,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

C.  J.  L.  Meyer  had  a  machine  shop  for  some  years  which  toward 
the  last,  was  a  branch  of  the  great  Allis  Works  of  Milwaukee. 
During  the  half  century,  there  have  been  a  few  small  shops  that  did 
not  last  long. 

Abel  Brothers  had  a  shop  for  a  number  of  years  at  the  corner 
of  East  First  and  Portland  streets,  now  located  on  Third  street.  It 
is  mainly  for  small  work  and  repairs  and  especially  on  automobiles, 
bicycles,  lawn  mowers,  etc. 

L.  H.  Clark  opened  a  machine  shop  for  small  work,  in  1894,  on 
East  Second  street,  under  the  name  of  Clark  Manufacturing  Com- 


306  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

pany,  making  metallic  steam  packings  and  a  number  of  novelties 
which  have  had  an  enormous  sale.  After  a  time  a  style  of  gasoline 
engine  designed  at  these  shops,  was  perfected  and  made  in  large 
numbers.  In  1900,  the  shops  were  moved  to  Forest  avenue  near  the 
railroad  tracks,  and  the  facilities  largely  increased  by  the  addition  of 
machinery  for  making  gasoline  engines,  novelties  and  doing  repair 
work. 

P.  N.  Quentin  has  a  shop  on  West  Second  street,  for  doing  re- 
pairing, locksmith  and  small  work.  The  Quentin  shop  was  first 
located  on  East  Division  street,  in  1893. 


A  Good  Pork  Joke. 

A  joke  is  told  by  J.  B.  Tripp  on  the  early  days'  habit  of  borrow- 
ing meat.  Settlers  sometimes  borrowed  pieces  of  pork  to  be 
returned  at  killing  time.  One  of  the  settlers  had  borrowed  so  many 
pieces  that  when  he  figured  it  up  found  he  would  not  have  enough 
to  pay  his  pork  debts.  A  neighbor  volunteered  to  tell  him  how  to 
settle  it  and  possibl}^  have  some  pork  left.  "Let  your  meat  creditors 
know  the  day  you  will  kill,"  said  he,  "and  that  night  hang  your  pig 
out  to  cool,  and  taking  it  in  later,  cut  and  pack  it  safely  away  from 
sight  and  tell  them  next  day  that  your  pig  had  been  stolen.  In 
sympathy  for  your  loss,  they  will  forgive  the  debt."  The  pig  was 
out  but  a  short  time  when  the  neighbor  captured  it.  He  was  the 
first  man  to  be  informed  next  morning  that  the  pig  had  been  stolen. 
"That's  right,"  said  he,  "stick  to  it  and  make  'em  believe  it."  "But 
it  has  been  stolen,"  he  insisted.  "That's  right — that's  the  way  to  do 
it."  "Why,  you  darned  fool,  I  tell  you  the  pig  is  gone — has  been 
stolen."  "Yes,  I  know  it,  but  you  must  make  the  others  believe  it 
too."  No  sympathy  or  satisfaction  was  possible  and  there  was  no 
payment  of  the  pork  debts.  On  another  occasion  a  settler  had  four 
chickens  which  he  said  he  was  going  to  bestow  upon  neighboring 
friends  for  Thanksgiving.  When  the  time  came  around  he  visited 
the  coup  of  a  neighbor,  lifted  and  dressed  the  four  chickens  to  save 
his  own.  But  next  morning  his  were  gone  too.  Some  one  else  played 
the  same  trick  he  had.  The  early  settlers  were  not  all  this  sort  of 
people,  but  there  were  some  such. 


A  West  Side  Trail. 

There  used  to  be  an  Indian  trail  much  used,  on  the  west  side  of 
Lake  Winnebago.  This  trail  branched  from  the  east  side,  or  main  trail 
and  road  near  what  is  now  Kaukauna  and  passing  southwest  came 
to  the  upper  Fox  river  at  Butte  des  Morts,  where  it  crossed  the  river. 
Boats  were  used  and  the  snubbing  posts  could  be  seen  near  the  home 
of  Mr.  Hull,  until  a  very  few  years  ago.  This  trail  followed  the  river 
much  of  the  way  to  Fort  Winnebago,  at  Portage.  There  was  a  cross 
trail  from  the  Military  road  at  Fox  Lake,  to  Buffalo  Lake.  There 
were  other  Indian  trails  or  paths,  which  were  sometimes  findable, 
sometimes  not. 


THE  FOND  DU  LAC  "HOME" 


History  of  One  of  the  Noble  Charities  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Founded  in 
1872.     Has  Been  Ably  Managed. 


The  Fond  du  Lac  Home. 

This  noble  charity  now  thirty-three  years  old,  was'  first  known 
as  the  "Home  of  the  Friendless,"  but  was  changed  and  is  now  known 
as  "The  Home."  From  its  beginning  it  has  been  in  charge  of  ladies 
who  knew  how  to  give  it  the  highest  possible  efficiency  with  the 
means  they  had  to  work  with,  and  they  have  never  faltered,  though 
the  future  was  sometimes  rather  dark  and  vigorous  and  determined 
effort  needed  to  properly  carry  on  the  work.  Twice  have  these 
noble  ladies  been  confronted  with  fires  in  the  buildings,  but  still  they 
did  not  falter,  but  kept  up  courage  and  met  all  troubles  as  well  as  to 
provide  for  the  general  wants  of  the  institution.  They  are  entitled  to 
and  it  is  certain  that  they  will  receive,  the  thanks  of  the  entire  com- 
munity. Mrs.  W.  C.  Hamilton  and  Mrs.  W.  H.  Hiner  are  the  only 
ones  of  the  first  members  of  the  trustees,  who  are  still  with  us,  and 
to  their  honor  be  it  said,  they  have  all  these  years  been  active  in 
work.  Of  the  early  members,  however,  Mrs.  G.  W.  Lusk,  Mrs.  Julia 
Ruggles  and  Mrs.  A.  E.  Walker  are  still  living. 

The  Home,  with  its  ample  grounds  and  large,  comfortable  build- 
ings, is  an  outgrowth  and  the  exclusive  property  of  the  Fond  du  Lac 
Relief  Society,  which  was  organized  by  the  ladies  of  Fond  du  Lac, 
during  the  great  fires  in  Michigan  and  Wisconsin  in  1871.  Mrs.  Julia 
Tallmadge  Ruggles  was  the  leading  spirit  in  organizing  the  Relief 
Society.  She  was  also  mainly  instrinnental  in  securing  a  charter  for 
the  society,  enabling  it  to  hold  property  and  in  raising  money  to  pur- 


308  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

chase  the  building  now  owned  and  occupied  as  the  Home.  Her 
original  idea  was  to  have  an  industrial  school  connected  with  the 
Home,  so  that  needy  people  might  be  provided  with  employment  for 
wages. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  Fennimore  Beall,  until  her  death  in  1879,  was  also 
an  earnest  worker  in  the  Relief  Society.  The  first  annual  report  of 
the  society  was  in  April,  1875.  It  contained  the  original  articles  of 
association  as  required  by  law,  showing  that  the  following  ladies 
were  the  founders  of  the  society:  Mrs.  Elizabeth  F.  Beall,  Mary  \Y . 
Stow,  E.  B.  Tallmadge,  Mary  L.  Hamilton,  Susan  A.  Perry,  Mary 
Branshaw,  E.  A.  Walker,  Julia  T.  Ruggles,  C.  L.  Spears,  C.  F. 
Townsend,  E.  A.  Hurd,  Mary  L.  Hiner,  G.  W.  Lusk.  A  large  number 
of  other  ladies  afterward  became  members,  the  life  membership  fee 
being  $25.  In  1876,  the  state  made  an  appropriation  of  $300,  and  until 
1879  the  county  set  aside  $300  annually  for  the  Home.  At  its  session 
in  that  year,  the  County  Board  refused  to  make  an  appropriation. 
Mrs.  William  B.  Brand,  at  her  death  in  1878,  bequeathed  some  real 
estate  and  $200  in  cash  to  the  Home,  and  the  citizens  of  Fond  du  Lac 
have  given  liberally  to  its  support.  George  W.  Peck  delivered  a 
lecture  for  the  benefit  of  the  Home,  and  various  fairs,  concerts, 
dramas  and  other  entertainments  have  been  given  to  replenish  its 
treasury.  These  have  always  been  liberally  patronized.  The  build- 
ing occupied  as  the  Home  is  situated  on  the  corner  of  Amory  and 
Arndt  streets,  and  was  purchased  by  the  Fond  du  Lac  Relief  Society 
August  30,  1873,  of  R.  M.  Lewis,  for  $2,500.  It  is  commodious  and 
well  arranged  for  the  use  to  which  it  has  been  put,  and  is  surrounded 
by  a  finely  shaded  yard  and  large  garden. 

The  Home  is  the  only  non-sectarian  benevolent  institution  in 
the  city  and  has  accomplished  great  good,  extending  aid  to  persons 
of  all  ages  and  shades  of  religious  opinion. 

In  this  year  of  1905,  the  following  named  ladies  are  in  charge  of 
the  Home : 

President— Mrs.  G.  N.  Mihills. 

Vice  President— Mrs.  M.  B.  Peck. 

Recording  Secretary — Mrs.  J.  T.  Green. 

Corresponding  Secretary — Mrs.  Martha  Jacobs. 

Treasurer — Mrs.  George  Perkins. 

Trustees— Mrs.  W.  C.  Hamilton,  Mrs.  W.  H.  Hiner,  Mrs.  E.  R. 
Herren,  Mrs.  Henry  Boyle,  Mrs.  D.  B.  Wyatt,  Mrs.  John  Hughes, 
Mrs.  J.  M.  Blish,  Mrs.  Alex.  McDonald,  Mrs.  M.  J.  Peck,  Mrs.  J.  C. 
Wells,  Mrs.  M.  M.  Gillet. 

Miss  McNaughton  is  the  present  Matron  and  a  most  efficient  one. 
She  is  loved  by  the  inmates  and  honored  by  all  who  have  dealings 
with  the  Home. 

Many  prominent  ladies  of  the  city  have  been  connected  with  the 
Home  in  years  past,  among  them  Mrs.  J.  M.  Aldrich,  Mrs.  C.  J.  Petti- 
bone,  Mrs.  G.  W.  Lusk,  Mrs.  J.  C.  Whittelsey,  Mrs.  J.  C.  Wedge. 

Issued  a  Newspaper. 

The  ladies  of  the  Home  sought  and  obtained  the  privilege  of 
issuing  the  Daily  Commonwealth  for  July  4,  1904.    Coming  from  such 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  309 

hands,  of  course  the  paper  contained  much  interesting  matter  and 
the  following  history  is  given  : 

In  the  year  1872,  immediately  after  the  great  forest  fires  that 
destroyed  Peshtigo  and  Marinette,  a  meeting  was  called  by  Mrs. 
Julia  Ruggles  and  the  "Fond  du  Lac  Relief  Society"  was  formed. 
The  first  purpose  of  this  society  was  to  relieve  the  immediate  needs 
of  the  fire  sufferers.  Afterwards  its  work  was  among  the  poor  of 
this  city.  There  was  left  of  the  "State  Relief  Fund"  about  a 
thousand  dollars,  which  was  divided  among  three  societies,  Fond  du 
Lac  receiving  over  three  hundred  dollars.  This  sum  was  set  apart 
and  was  the  foundation  stone  of  the  "Home." 

In  1873,  it  was  decided  by  the  society  to  build  a  "Home  for  the 
Friendless."  Mrs.  Julia  Ruggles,  Mrs.  Beall,  Mrs.  Stow  and  others, 
solicited  subscriptions  from  the  business  men,  who  responded 
generously. 

In  the  fall  of  1873,  a  fair  was  given  extending  through  the  week. 
From  this  entertainment  twelve  hundred  dollars  was  cleared.  At 
last  with  about  thirty-five  hundred  dollars,  the  former  home  of  Mrs. 
Ruggles,  which  had  been  parti}'  destroyed  by  fire,  was  bought,  re- 
paired, paid  for,  and  opened  in  January,  1874.  The  society  started 
out  of  debt,  but  with  an  empty  treasury.  However,  the  citizens  were 
generous,  donations  of  furniture  and  food  came  in  and  the  Home 
prospered. 

In  1880,  the  society  decided  to  publish  a  Cook  Book.  This  was 
ably  edited  by  Mrs.  David  Babcock,  with  the  assistance  of  Mrs.  Edw. 
Colman. 

The  "Fountain  City  Cook  Book"  proved  a  great  success,  and  ten 
years  later  another  edition  was  published  which  continues  to  sell,  and 
has  gone  into  nearly  every  state  of  the  Union.  The  book  has  been 
of  great  assistance,  and  from  its  sale  an  addition  was  built  in  1891, 
costing  nearly  five  hundred  dollars.  In  1899,  this  part  of  the  building 
was  destroyed  by  fire. 

The  society,  with  the  insurance  received,  and  five  hundred 
dollars  of  the  "Mark  Harrison  bequest,"  immediately  rebuilt.  A 
large  dining  room,  kitchen  and  laundry,  with  several  bed  rooms  above, 
soon  covered  the  ruins.  Furniture  for  the  dining  room  was  given, 
and  two  of  the  bed  rooms  prettily  furnished ;  one  by  the  "Neighborly 
Club  of  Byron,"  the  other  by  the  Progressive  Sisters  of  this  city,  and 
the  Home  was  soon  in  running  order  again. 

In  the  past  twenty-seven  years,  the  Home  has  been  a  refuge  for 
many.  Children,  the  middle-aged,  but  mostly  the  old  and  helpless, 
have  been  there  cared  for.    A  number  have  been  there  for  many  years. 

The  founders  of  the  Home,  those  "who  bore  the  heat  and  burden 
of  the  day,"  have  nearly  all  passed  to  the  "beyond,"  their  places  being 
filled  by  a  younger  generation.  Only  two  of  the  first  Trustees  are 
now  on  the  board  of  management. 

As  the  Home  has  been  so  generously  treated  in  the  past,  we 
anticipate  a  prosperous  futvire.  "The  poor  ye  have  always  with  you," 
and  there  will  always  be  need  of  your  help  and  sympathy.  We  know 
that  the  doors  of  the  Home  will  never  be  closed  to  the  unfortunate 


310  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAO 

from  lack  of  your  generous  support,  or  for  the  need  of  willing  workers, 
helping  to  lessen  the  pain  and  misery  falling  to  the  lot  of  the  poor, 
the  old  and  friendless. 


An  Exciting  Trial. 

In  1872,  C.  L.  Pierce,  then  running  a  plow  shop  at  the  corner  of 
Macy  and  Court  streets,  met  with  a  distressing  accident  by  which 
he  lost  an  arm.  It  was  caused  by  the  bursting  of  a  grindstone  on 
which  he  was  polishing  a  plow.  Dr.  Gray  was  called  and  amputation 
followed.  This  was  held  to  be  malpractice  and  suit  was  brought  in 
circuit  court.  Some  of  the  most  eminent  lawyers  in  the  state  were 
employed,  including  Harlow  S.  Orton,  afterwards  one  of  the  judges 
on  the  bench  of  the  supreme  court.  Depositions  were  taken  from 
some  of  the  most  eminent  surgeons  in  the  United  States.  After  a 
long  and  exciting  trial,  the  jury  believed  the  amputation  to  be  a 
proper  procedure  and  gave  a  verdict  in  favor  of  Dr.  Gray. 


Deer  at  Crofoot  Bridge. 

The  Crofoot  bridge  is  a  small  structure  carrying  the  track  of  the 
Northwestern  railroad  across  the  east  branch  of  the  Fond  du  Lac 
river,  in  the  town  of  Fond  du  Lac,  about  four  miles  south  of  the  city. 
Near  this  bridge  is  where  the  last  deer  was  killed  that  the  writer 
remembers  to  have  been  shot  within  many  miles  of  the  city.  It  was 
when  the  railroad  was  completed  only  to  Minnesota  Junction,  and  so 
must  have  been  about  1856  or  1857.  Dick  Beeson  worked  in  the 
printing  office  in  the  city  and  often  on  Satvirday  afternoons  went  to 
the  home  of  his  parents,  in  Oakfield.  He  was  a  remarkable  marks- 
man and  seldom  made  the  trip  without  his  gun.  On  this  occasion  he 
found  a  lone  deer  near  the  river  and  in  the  edge  of  the  timber.  He 
secured  the  deer  and  it  was  put  into  the  Crofoot  barn  until  Sunday 
morning,  when  Grandfather  Crofoot  brought  it  to  the  city,  receiving 
part  of  the  carcass  for  his  services.  This  is  the  last  deer  remembered 
to  have  been  shot  within  many  miles  of  the  city.  Long  after  this 
they  were  often  secured  in  the  timber  and  openings  of  Osceola, 
Forest  and  Ashford.  They  were  not  numerous,  but  hunters  were 
not  always  unsuccessful.  Bears  were  never  numerous,  but  their 
capture  was  occasionally  heard  of  in  the  timbered  parts  of  the 
county.  Lynx  and  wolves  were  often  shot  as  late  as  1858.  There  are 
yet  some  wolves,  but  the  other  game  has  about  all  disappeared. 


It  is  about  twenty-five  years  since  the  writer  talked  with  an 
Oshkosh  man  about  laundries.  This  man  was  just  suited  for  that 
sort  of  work,  but  he  ridiculed  it.  At  that  time  it  was  believed  that 
soft  or  rain  water,  was  a  necessity  to  laundry  men's  shirts,  collars 
and  cuffs.  Said  he,  "Where  or  how  could  the  water  supply  be 
obtained  and  the  price  of  laundry  work  by  washwomen,  could  not  be 
made  to  pay."  Things  are  different  now,  but  that  man  is  dead  and 
cannot  realize  it. 


SOLOMON  JUNEAU 


A     Frenchman     of     Wonderful     Influence     Among     the     Indians, 
Especially   the   Menomonees.     Milwaukee's   First   Mayor. 


The  first  time  the  writer  saw  Solomon  Juneau,  was  on  the  pay 
ground  at  Lake  Poygan  in  1S51.  After  that  he  was  in  Fond  du  Lac 
several  times  and  Edward  Pier,  Edward  Beeson,  John  A.  Eastman, 
Alonzo  Raymond  and  a  few  others  called  on  him  at  the  Journal 
office  on  one  of  these  visits.  In  the  talk  the  writer  was  impressed 
that  he  was  an  honest  and  honorable  man,  and  such  he  really  was. 
He  and  Edward  Pier  were  warm  friends. 

Solomon  Juneau,  the  first  settler  at  Milwaukee,  died  at  the 
Menomonee  Pay  Ground  on  Wolf  river  in  Shawano  county,  Wiscon- 
sin, November  14,  1856,  aged  about  sixty-six  years.  Mr.  Juneau 
came  to  Milwaukee  in  June.  1818,  as  an  employe  of  the  American 
Fur  Company,  accompanied  by  his  father-in-law,  Mr.  Jacques  Vieau ; 
having  selected  this  location,  then  an  Indian  village,  for  a  convenient 
trading  post,  with  no  white  settler  in  Wisconsin  nearer  than  Green 
Bay  and  Prairie  du  Chien.  He  built  here,  in  1822,  the  first  log  house, 
and  in  1824,  the  first  frame  building,  erected  in  Milwaukee.  Here  he 
continued  to  reside,  rearing  up  a  family  of  fourteen  children,  thirteen 
of  whom  were  born  in  the  city.  He  was  at  one  time  the  proprietor 
of  a  large  portion  of  its  territory.  When,  in  1835,  a  postoffice  was 
established,  Mr.  Juneau  was  by  common  consent,  appointed  post- 
master, which  office  he  filled  for  nine  years.  In  1846,  when  Mil- 
waukee became  a  city,  he  was  chosen  the  first  mayor.  Shortly  after, 
he  removed  to  Dodge  county. 

Mr.  Juneau  was  a  man  of  excellent  sense,  of  generous  impulses, 
of  a  kindly  and  affectionate  disposition,  and  of  a  lofty  and  honorable 
nature.  He  successfully  maintained  his  reputation  as  an  honest,  up- 
right, straightforward  man.  The  Indians  regarded  him  as  a  true 
friend  and  trusty  counsellor.  He  died  without  enemies,  and  left 
thousands  of  friends  to  mourn  the  loss  of  a  good  citizen  and  a  true 
man.     His  remains  were  carried  to  Milwaukee  for  interment. 


Beeson  House  on  Third  Street. 

The  first  house  occupied  in  Fond  du  Lac  by  the  family  of  Edward 
Beeson,  was  on  Third  street,  near  Main,  on  the  ground  now  covered 
by  the  shops  of  Mr.  Guse.  The  house  itself  disappeared  in  1902  by 
the  building  of  the  present  brick  shops  located  there.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  the  house  was  not  large,  but  it  served  the  purpose  of 
a  home  for  the  family  of  Mr.  Beeson  many  years.  Next  west  is  the 
residence  of  the  late  Mrs.  Lyman  Bishop,  which  was  occupied  by 
her  more  than  fifty  years. 


312  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Threshing  Machines  and  Tables. 

What  has  of  late  years  been  known  as  the  Table  Factory,  on 
West  Scott  street,  was  established  in  1881,  by  Geo.  P.  Lee  for  the 
manufacture  of  the  "Pride  of  the  West"  threshing  machines,  but  not 
proving  successful,  was  sold  to  the  McDonald  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany for  the  building  of  threshing  machines,  but  of  another  kind. 
When  the  western  booms  began  about  1887,  John  McDonald  was 
offered  inducements  which  took  the  works  to  Minneapolis.  The 
plant  on  Scott  street  now  stood  idle  for  some  years,  but  in  1893, 
Edward  Blasius  came  here  from  Juneau  and  organized  the  Fond  du 
Lac  Table  Company,  a  concern  that  has  since  manufactured  a  great 
variety  of  tables  besides  doing  much  other  work.  It  has  not  all  the 
time  been  under  the  same  management,  but  ha''s  been  successful. 
The  plant  is  now  incorporated  under  the  name  of  Fond  du  Lac  Table 
Manufacturing  Company,  and  is  in  charge  of  Louis  Rueping,  Presi- 
dent, and  C.  E.  Carstens,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 


B.  F.  &  H.  L.  Sweet  Shops. 

The  shops  of  B.  F.  &  H.  L.  Sweet  were  started  here  in  1850,  on 
Arndt  street,  near  where  they  are  now.  At  first  it  was  a  blacksmith 
shop  for  general  work  in  that  line,  but  after  a  time  they  began  the 
making  of  the  "Common  Sense  Sleigh,"  of  which  large  numbers 
were  made  and  sold.  The  works  were  very  prosperous,  and  after  they 
took  the  shops  vacated  by  the  Union  Iron  Works,  they  began  the 
manufacture  of  wagons  also,  with  much  success.  Their  output  was 
far  superior  to  that  of  factories  generally  and  was  in  large  demand. 
And  so  for  more  than  half  a  century,  these  works  have  lived  and 
prospered.  Both  of  the  original  proprietors  have  passed  away,  leav- 
ing the  shops  to  the  sons  of  both,  but  F.  }*i.  Sweet  having  also  died, 
they  are  now  in  charge  of  Mr.  Waldo  Sweet,  one  of  the  most  energetic 
and  popular  business  men  of  the  city. 

B.  F.  Sweet,  one  of  the  original  proprietors,  was  a  very  popular 
man  in  the  community,  and  besides  serving  his  fellow  citizens  in 
various  other  positions,  was  three  times  elected  mayor  of  the  city. 


Once  a  Chiccory  Factory. 

How  many  people  of  Fond  du  Lac  know  that  there  was  once  a 
factory  in  their  midst  for  the  preparation  of  chiccory  as  a  substitute 
and  adulterant  for  coffee.  Such  was  the  fact,  however,  but  it  lasted 
but  a  very  few  years.  The  enterprise  was  started  by  Morritz  Krembs 
about  the  year  1850.  The  chiccory  was  grown  here,  but  our  soil 
seemed  to  produce  a  poor  quality  of  the  root  and  the  demand  for  it 
became  so  small  that  the  business  did  not  pay  and  was  abandoned. 
It  is  said  to  require  a  peculiar  soil  to  produce  chiccory,  and  that  our 
northern  soil  was  not  adapted  to  it. 


OCCURRED  SOME  TIME  AGO 


Talks  About  Things  That   Happened  a   Long  Time   Ago,   but  are 

Interesting    and    Amusing,    Especially    to    the 

Old  People  and  the  Pioneers. 


Cheese  Factories  and  Grangers. 

The  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  known  as  the  Grangers,  and  the 
cheese  factories,  came  into  Fond  du  Lac  county  about  the  same  time, 
Sheboygan  county  had  made  considerable  stir  in  cheese  making  be- 
fore Fond  du  Lac  started  in  it,  but  this  county  preceded  Sheboygan 
in  the  grange  work.  In  1877  and  1878,  the  cheese  factories  appeared 
one  after  another  until  the  county  was  well  dotted  with  them.  The 
foreign  demand  for  American  cheese  caused  them  to  increase  and 
dairy  boards  to  profitably  handle  the  product,  were  organized,  and 
among  them  the  Fond  du  Lac  board.  But  the  foreign  demand 
slackened  and  there  being  less  demand  for  cheese,  more  attention 
was  given  to  butter  and  the  creameries  appeared,  often  displacing  the 
cheese  factories.  The  result  has  been  that  the  creameries  have  dis- 
placed at  least  one-half  the  cheese  factories.  So  much  has  the  pro- 
duct of  the  latter  decreased  that  many  prominent  dealers  have  gone 
out  of  the  cheese  business.  And  so  with  the  Grangers.  Very  few  of 
them  remain.  Some  neighborhoods  still  have  them  but  they  are 
scarce.  The  cause  of  this  is  believed  to  be  due  mainly  to  the  extreme 
to  which  the  grange  work  was  carried,  and  especially  with  reference 
to  the  purchase  of  goods  by  grange  members.  The  cards  presented  to 
dealers  to  secure  discounts,  was  regarded  in  the  nature  of  a  hold  up 
and  would  not  be  tolerated.  Not  only  this,  but  the  whole  grange 
movement  came  to  be  regarded  in  a  bad  light.  Members  as  well  as 
dealers  and  outsiders  felt  the  objectionable  features  and  disintegration 
followed.  The  Patrons  of  Husbandry  was  an  organization  based 
upon  sentiment  and  personal  interest,  cheese  factories  and  creameries 
are  based  upon  public  interest  in  manufactures  and  must  continue 
as  long  as  the  national  industry  of  dairying  continues. 

The  first  cheese  factory  in  this  county  is  believed  to  have  been 
that  of  Chester  Hazen,  in  Springvale.  He  made  cheese  there  as  early 
as  1872,  but  it  was  about  1876  when  he  adopted  the  cheese  factory 
mode  of  taking  in  the  milk  of  his  neighbors.  His  cheese  had  a  fine 
reputation  and  he  sold  all  of  his  product  readily  to  local  dealers  in 
Fond  du  Lac,  Ripon  and  Waupun.  There  was  a  demand  for  it  in 
Milwaukee  which  he  could  not  supply.  Then  came  the  Jennings 
and  Parsons  cheese  factories  in  Rosendale,  with  a  demand  for  more 
than  they  could  supply,  and  the  factories  multiplied  until  nearly 
every  four  corners  had  one.  Before  and  during  the  war  our  cheese 
came  mainlv  from  the  east,  the  best  grades  from  eastern   Ohio  and 


314  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

western  New  York,  known  as  Western  Reserve  cheese.  We  also 
had  domestic  cheese,  made  by  farmers,  but  it  was  of  low  grade  gen- 
erally. Dairying  in  butter  was  a  matter  of  supply  by  farmers  to 
families  and  grocers  who  retailed  it  to  customers.  At  that  time  the 
customer  carried  his  plate  to  the  grocery  and  took  his  butter  home  on 
it,  provided  he  could  get  any  worthy  the.  honor  of  being  thus  carried. 
Farmers  who  made  good  butter  had  no  difficulty  in  disposing  of  it 
and  it  was  the  constant  effort  of  the  grocer  to  get  it  in  large  quantities. 
The  butter  trade  has  changed  vastly. 

Where  They  Have  Lived. 

The  Fond  du  Lac  Commonwealth  was  born  in  the  second  story 
of  the  north  one-third  of  the  old  Darling  block,  in  1854. 
1865  J.  A.  Smith  fitted  up  the  old  Darling  Hall  for  living 
rooms  and  printing  office.  In  1868,  he  began  the  erection  of  a  brick 
building  next  west  of  the  First  National  Bank,  and  moved  the  office 
into  it  before  completed,  and  here  it  remained  imtil  the  office  was 
bought  by  the  Commonwealth  Printing  Company,  when  it  was 
moved  to  the  rooms  over  the  American  Express  office,  corner  of 
Forest  avenue  and  Macy  street.  In  1890,  Mr.  Haber  erected  his 
building,  on  the  completion  of  which  the  Commonwealth  was  moved 
there  and  still  remains.  In  1869,  ]\lr.  Smith  started  the  daily,  using 
a  patent  inside  from  the  office  of  a  Chicago  daily.  Watrous  & 
Kutchin  made  it  into  a  full  fledged  daily  in  1872. 

The  birth  place  of  the  Reporter  was  the  second  story  of  the 
Kalt  building,  corner  of  Main  and  East  Second  streets,  then  known 
as  the  Ward  &  Windecker  hall.  In  1863,  it  was  moved  to  Warner 
block  over  what  is  uoav  the  Schleyer-Ordway  drug  store.  In  1866, 
it  journeyed  to  the  south  side  of  Division  street,  between  Main  and 
Macy.  In  1873,  it  was  moved  to  the  basement  of  the  postoffice,  but 
being  drowned  out  the  following  spring,  took  quarters  over  Cough- 
lin's  meat  market.  1876  found  it  in  the  postoffice  block,  where  it 
remained  just  twenty  years  and  until  Mr.  Lange  had  the  present 
beautiful  block  erected  and  where  it  has  now  been  nearly  ten  years. 
These  have  been  the  homes  of  the  Reporter  during  the  forty-three 
years  of  its  existence,  and  it  is  quite  fitting  that  it  should  round  out 
this  long  period  of  time  in  a  building  erected  for  it  and  so  well 
adapted  to  its  uses. 

In  early  times  a  small  wooden  building  stood  on  the  ground  now 
occupied  by  the  Mason  crockery  store,  and  in  it  was  born  the  old 
Fond  du  Lac  Journel,  our  first  newspaper.  It  went  to  a  wooden  build- 
ing that  in  1851  stood  on  the  south  half  of  the  lot  now  occupied  by  the 
Fond  du  Lac  National  Bank,  and  the  name  changed  to  Fond  du  Lac 
Union.  The  Journal,  revived  in  i860  by  T.  F.  Strong,  Jr.,  was  located 
over  premises  near  where  the  G.  Scherzinger  jewelry  store  is  now. 
Thence  to  Division  street  and  finally  to  the  rooms  over  Murphy  & 
Murphy's  plumbing  shop,  on  Forest  avenue,  where  J.  R.  Bloom  closed 
out  the  business  to  the  Reporter. 

The  Nordwestlicher  Courier  has  had  but  two  homes.  Carl 
De  Hass  &  Son  put  it  into  the  south  end  of  the  postoffice  block  and 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  315 

Mr.  W.  F.  Weber  took  it  to  its  present  location,  northwest  corner  of 
Forest  avenue  and  Macy  street,  about  twenty-five  years  ago. 

The  Bulletin  still  occupies  the  rooms  in  which  it  was  born  less 
than  a  year  ago.  We  have  had  many  other  newspapers  which  have 
occupied  many  premises,  but  where  they  lived  and  also  where  they 
died,  is  of  little  general  interest  now. 

Money  Not  Reliable. 

About  the  year  1849,  Alexander  Mitchell  started  a  bank  at  Mil- 
waukee under  the  name  of  Wisconsin  Fire  and  Marine  Insurance 
Company  Bank.  This  money  circulated  well  in  Wisconsin,  but  else- 
where one  could  hardly  buy  a  dinner  with  a  $5  bill.  The  bank  issues 
of  the  Illinois,  Indiana  and  Michigan  banks  were  equally  poor  here. 
Much  of  it  was  also  counterfeited  and  every  business  man  had  a 
book  called  a  detector,  but-  they  got  the  counterfeits  just  the  same. 
This  was  the  sort  of  money  struggled  with  until  the  issues  of  the 
greenbacks  in  1862  and  the  national  bank  currency  in  1863.  These 
issues  were  strongly  criticised  at  first,  but  it  has  proven  the  only 
reliable  currency  we  ever  had.  True,  the  Wisconsin  State  banks  in 
the  fifties  was  much  of  an  improvement,  but  still  much  of  it  was  poor, 
or  at  least  unreliable.  "United  States  Banks"  was  a  political  issue 
in  the  Polk  and  Clay  campaign  of  1844.  and  such  a  bank  or  the  issue 
of  paper  money  by  the  general  government,  was  strongly  opposed 
by  the  democratic  party.  We  have  since  learned  something  and  have 
found  that  such  money  is  the  only  means  of  saving  the  tribulations 
of  early  days. 

Chief  Oshkosh,  of  the  Menomonees. 

Except  Black  Hawk,  Oshkosh  was  the  most  noted  of  the 
Indians  who  have  had  a  home  in  Wisconsin,  but  the  character^  of 
these  two  red  men  were  quite  different.  Black  Hawk  was  a  great 
w'arrior,  Oshkosh  was  a  lover  of  peace  and  a  genuine  diplomat  in  the 
settlement  of  troubles,  whether  tribal  or  personal.  He  never  quar- 
reled with  any  one.  The  writer  remembers  him  as  a  man  of  moderate 
size,  really  below  the  average  of  his  tribe,  was  rather  slow  of  motion 
and  slow  in  speech.  \A'hen  from  home,  which  was  not  often,  he 
always  appeared  in  silk  hat  and  eagle  feather,  but  never  in  paint.  His 
home  for  a  long  time  was  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Wolf  river,  near 
the  village  of  Fremont,  but  his  permanent  home  was  further  north. 
AMien  he  visited  the  city  of  Oshkosh,  it  was  his  delight  to  stroll 
along  the  river  as  if  to  note  the  changes  since  his  early  life.  He  did 
not  acquire  the  use  of  the  English  language  so  as  to  use  it  much,  but 
his  son,  who  followed  him  as  chief  of  the  Menomonees.  not  only 
speaks  the  language,  but  is  a  quite  fluent  public  speaker.  The  tribe 
is  rapidly  growing  less  in  numbers,  and  in  a  few  years  more  all  will 
be  eone. 


Henry  C.  Moore  was  a  city  carrier  for  the  Commonwealth  at  a 
time  when  the  city  edition  was  handled  by  one  boy.  Some  city  sub- 
scribers got  their  papers  at  the  post  office,  and  Henry  took  the 
balance. 


316  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Sylvan  Grove  Cemetery. 

Fond  du  Lac's  first  cemetery,  known  as  "Sylvan  Grove,"  was 
located  west  of  town  and  was  used  for  a  number  of  years,  but  in 
1852  the  agitation  began  which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of 
Rienzi.  Gov.  Tallmadge  had  made  a  generous  offer  of  what  was 
then  deemed  sufficient  land,  but  it  required  some  time  and  much 
argument  to  bring  about  an  acceptance  of  the  offer.  The  principal 
objection  was  the  distance  from  the  city,  which  would  make  funerals 
expensive  and  render  it  impossible  for  people  to  properly  care  for  the 
last  resting  places  of  their  dead.  These  objections  had  much  force 
and  the  matter  was  for  a  long  time  under  discussion.  And  there 
was  another  consideration  which  had  much  weight.  Those  who  had 
friends  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  realized  that  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  remove  them  if  the  new  cemetery  proposition  was  adopted. 
But  that  which  outweighed  these  objections  and  was  chiefly  instru- 
mental finally  in  bringing  about  the  change,  was  the  fact  that  the 
old  cemetery  ground  was  so  wet  that  newly-dug  graves  would  partly 
fill  with  water,  which  had  to  be  dipped  out  and  fresh  grass  put  in  the 
bottom  of  the  grave  just  before  the  arrival  of  the  funeral  party  to 
avoid  seeming  heartlessness.  This  had  been  a  not  unusual  experience 
and  the  better  class  of  citizens  favored  a  cemetery  where  the  ground 
was  high  and  dry.  And  so  it  came  about  that  beautiful  Rienzi  was 
made  the  cemetery  of  the  city  and  has  been  two  or  three  times  en- 
larged by  the  purchase  of  more  land.  The  trouble  of  distance  still 
holds  and  the  cost  to  the  people  in  caring  for  their  lots  in  consider- 
able, but  it  is  hoped  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  there  will 
be  a  street  railroad  to  Rienzi.  Most  of  the  bodies  in  the  old  cemetery 
were  moved  to  the  new  one,  but  some  remain  entirely  lost  to  memory 
or  to  any  record  in  existence.  It  was  mainly  because  of  objections 
to  the  old  burying  ground  that  what  is  known  as  the  Pier  cemetery 
south  of  the  city,  was  started.  The  oldest  established  cemeteries 
were  in  Taycheedah,  Empire  and  Byron,  and  many  old  settlers  were 
buried  in  them  before  Sylvan  Grove  was  thought  of  more  than  as  a 
country  burying  ground.  The  latter  was  never  incorporated  under 
state  law,  but  the  others  were.  Taycheedah  and  Byron  cemeteries 
are  sometimes  used  even  to  the  present.  Estabrooks  cemetery,  es- 
tablished some  later,  is  still  extensively  used  for  burials  from  the 
city.  Calvary,  the  cemetery  consecrated  to  the  use  of  Catholics,  is 
becoming  more  beautiful  every  year,  and  it  is  located  near  enough 
to  the  city  for  people  to  look  to  their  lots  without  much  trouble. 
This  cemetery  is  but  about  half  the  distance  from  the  city  as  Rienzi 
and  it  is  well  cared  for. 


"Deacon"  Fuller  built  a  nice  residence  near  the  river  on  the 
south  side  of  Forest  avenue,  opposite  the  Gurney  plant.  To  make 
place  for  his  dry  house,  B.  F.  Moore  moved  it  to  where  the  Kuicks' 
grocery  store  is  now,  and  it  was  called  the  La  Belle  House.  After 
C.  R.  Harrison  bought  the  property,  he  turned  it  around  on  Harrison 
Place  and  made  it  into  the  residence  next  south  of  the  present  Forest 
Avenue  Hotel. 


PROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  317 

Kutchin  and  Finney  Discussion. 

It  was  in  1862  that  the  exciting  discussion  on  the  doctrines  of 
spiritualism  occurred  here  between  the  Rev.  T.  G.  Kutchin,  father 
of  H.  M.  Kutchin,  formerly  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  E.  R.  Finney, 
of  Milwaukee.  Mr.  Finney  was  one  of  the  leading  advocates  of 
spiritualism  and  as  a  lecturer  had  few  equals.  Mr.  Kutchin  was  a 
Methodist  preacher  and  a  man  of  powerful  mind.  The  discussion 
took  place  in  Amory  hall  afternoons  and  evenings  and  lasted  three 
days.  I.  S.  Sherwood,  the  well  known  hardware  dealer,  was  the 
backer,  financial  and  otherwise,  of  Mr.  Kutchin,  and  J.  H.  Spencer 
backed  Mr.  Finney.  Toward  the  last  of  the  sessions  the  feeling  ran 
high  and  each  side  charged  the  other  with  unfairness  and  both  vig- 
orously denied  the  charge.  Delays  of  one  kind  and  another  caused 
Mr.  Finney  to  leave  town  before  the  discussion  was  completed,  to 
fill  lecture  engagements,  and  it  was  arranged  that  he  would  return 
on  a  certain  date,  but  the  discussion  was  never  completed  and  of 
course  each  side  charged  the  other  with  a  sneak.  As  a  whole  this 
discussion  resulted  as  all  such  debates  do,  that  is,  in  much  bitter 
feeling  and  no  good  result  to  any  one. 

Mr.  Kutchin  was  a  man  of  powerful  intellect,  but  very  odd  in 
his  ways.  He  was  sent  to  Fond  du  Lac  by  the  Methodist  conference, 
but  failing  to  accept  the  religious  thought  of  the  time  was  in  disfavor 
with  the  denomination  at  the  end  of  the  first  year.  He  was  in  ac- 
cord, however,  with  the  liberal  thought  of  Fond  du  Lac  and  a  society 
was  formed  for  him  which  held  its  services  in  Amory  hall.  Crowds 
of  people  flocked  there  to  hear  him  preach  and  listen  to  singing  by 
a  choir  under  direction  of  Dr.  Patchen.  But  in  another  year  Mr. 
Kutchin  became  a  Baptist  and  retired  to  his  farm  near  Dartford, 
He  entered  the  Baptist  ministry,  but  his  religious  ideas  being  still  un- 
settled, he  went  back  to  his  farm  to  stay,  burned  all  his  sermons  and 
religious  writings  and  died  there  in  1871  at  an  advanced  age.  He 
left  three  sons,  Horace,  Howard  and  Victor,  all  of  them  men  of  great 
power  and  influence,  Horace  a  Baptist  minister,  Howard  for  many 
years  one  of  the  strongest  editors  the  Fond  du  Lac  Commonwealth 
ever  had,  and  Victor,  a  Baptist  minister  and  physician. 

The  First  School  House. 

The  first  school  house  in  Fond  du  Lac,  located  on  the  ground 
next  north  of  Henry  Brothers'  flour  and  feed  store,  where  Dahlem's 
bakery  was  so  many  years,  and  where  Shaw  &  Grube's  grocery  store 
is  now,  was  also  the  first  court  room.  It  was  afterward  moved  to 
the  south  side  of  Fifth  street,  half  a  block  east  of  Main,  where  it 
continued  to  be  used  for  court  sessions  until  destroyed  by  fire  a 
short  time  before  the  old  court  house  was  completed. 


Those  who  were  not  here  in  war  times,  can  have  little  idea  of  the 
anxiety  of  the  people.  Many  would  tremble  as  they  opened  the  daily 
paper  and  were  afraid  to  raise  their  eyes  to  flagstafifs  for  fear  of  half 
mast  flags,  indicating  disaster. 


318  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

The  Landing  Warehouses. 

What  was  for  so  many  years  known  as  the  Bannister  warehouse 
and  dock  for  the  landing  of  steamboats,  was  the  pioneer  landing  at 
Fond  du  Lac.  John  Bannister  was  the  owner  and  he  did  considerable 
business  until  the  railroads  came.  The  warehouse  and  dock  were 
commenced  in  1847  ^^^^  completed  in  1848.  Another  warehouse  and 
dock,  immediately  north  of  this,  owned  by  J.  H.  Clum,  were  built  in 
1849,  ^rid  still  another,  owned  by  Judge  C.  M.  Tompkins,  was  built 
the  same  year.  The  business  done  was  forwarding  and  commission 
and  the  sale  of  coarse  articles,  like  salt,  lime,  cement,  etc.  In  1866 
this  property  was  all  destroyed  by  fire  and  for  a  long  time  nothing 
was  done  there  except  that  the  landing  from  boats  was  into  the  street 
upon  a  few  planks.  About  1874  Hugh  Campbell  improved  the  land- 
ing a  little  and  put  up  a  small  building  which  still  remains.  Since 
that  time  it  has  been  known  as  Campbell's  dock.  There  is  little  use 
now  for  a  landing  there  of  any  sort. 

The  Lower  Town  Hotels. 

But  another  feature  of  the  landing  locality  in  the  pioneer  days 
was  the  hotels.  The  American  house  on  the  corner  of  Scott  and 
Brooke  streets,  opposite  the  Bannister  warehouse,  built  and  kept 
many  years  by  Sam  Hale,  did  a  large  business,  especially  during  the 
immigration  days  of  the  fifties,  when  the  Sheboygan  road  was  almost 
kept  warm  by  stages,  'buses  and  teaming.  Next  north  and  almost 
adjoining  the  American,  Mr  Joubert  had  a  small  hotel,  and  farther 
north  still  there  was  another  hotel  kept  by  Mr.  Foster — three  hotels 
in  a  row.  When  the  railroads  came  and  navigation  practically 
ceased,  the  Joubert  hotel  was  moved  to  another  locality,  the  Foster 
hotel  took  a  journey  to  the  corner  of  Main  and  Merrill  streets,  where 
it  became  the  starter  for  the  well  known  Serwe  house,  and  the  Amer- 
ican house  was  burned.  At  this  time  the  once  busy  corners  at  the 
landing  were  without  buildings,  except  a  few  small  dwellings.  Since 
then  the  American  house  corner  has  been  occupied  by  a  store.  The 
coming  of  North  Fond  du  Lac  and  Lakeside  park  have  given  more 
life  to  that  part  of  the  city  and  there  has  been  considerable  improve- 
ment on  Scott  and  other  streets  in  its  vicinity,  but  the  good  days  of 
the  landing  are  gone  forever. 

Concrete  for  Building. 

The  first  use  of  concrete  for  building  purposes,  was  by  John 
Marshall  in  1854.  His  first  efforts  was  for  the  building  on  the  south 
side  of  East  Second  street,  which  property  he  owned.  The  same 
year  he  built  the  structure  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Main  and  West 
First  streets,  now  owned  by  John  Waters  and  occupied  by  the 
Treleven  store.  His  next  effort  was  the  corner  of  Main  and  West 
Second  streets,  where  Wagner's  store  is  now.  Marshall  was  a 
Methodist  preacher  with  plenty  of  means.  The  buildings  stand  the 
weather  strain  very  well. 


CONVENT  AND  HOSPITAL 


Educational,     Benevolent    and    Hospital    Work    of    the     Sisters    of 

St.  Agnes  Since  1871. 


St.  Agnes'  Hospital. 

The  Sisters  of  St.  Agnes  began  their  work  in  Fond  du  Lac  in  1871, 
in  charge  of  Mother  Mary  Agnes  as  Mother  Superior.  Success 
marked  the  efforts  from  the  beginning.  A  small  building  was  used 
at  first,  but  in  1874  there  was  an  enlargement  and  in  1877,  a  building 
was  added,  one  hundred  and  twenty  by  forty-eight  feet  in  size,  four 
stories  high  and  basement.  The  Sisters  continued  their  work  with 
these  facilities,  until  in  1896,  the  hospital  demands  on  them  became  so 
great  that  the  present  large  and  well  arranged  hospital  was  built. 
Since  then,  many  things  have  been  added  to  facilitate  the  handling 
and  care  of  patients,  until  now  it  is  regarded  b}-  physicians  as  one  of 
the  best  in  the  state.  People  are  not  afraid  to  go  there  for  treatment, 
or  to  send  friends  there,  knowing  as  they  do,  that  everything  that 
science  can  suggest  is  provided  at  reasonable  cost.  The  educational 
and  benevolent  work  is  continued  as  in  former  years. 

Two  of  as  fine  ambulances  as  are  made  may  be  ordered  at  any 
moment.    The  first  one  was  bought  by  the  city  on  recommendation  of 


320  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

Mayor  Hoskins,  in  1901,  and  has  until  very  recently,  been  quartered 
at  the  First  Street  Livery  of  J.  K.  Wilkins.  The  second  one  was  pur- 
chased with  the  proceeds  of  baseball  games  between  the  lawyers, 
doctors  and  others,  and  has  been  kept  at  the  Hastings  Livery.  In  June, 
1905,  the  care  of  both  was  transferred  to  the  Forest  Avenue  Livery 
of  John  Gormican,  who  makes  the  run  for  each.  These  runs 
must  be  made  at  a  moment's  notice,  on  the  order  of  any  physician, 
druggist,  policeman,  railroad  man  or  manufacturer  in  the  city.  Before 
the  coming  of  the  ambulances,  Mr.  Hastings  and  other  liverymen  had 
rigs  arranged  that  could  be  used,  and  before  that  hacks  were  used 
because  of  necessity. 

The  baths  given  at  this  hospital  extend  to  almost  everything  in 
that  line,  known  to  modern  bathing,  and  are  scientifically  applied. 

The  Sisters  of  St.  Agnes  is  an  American  Sisterhood  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  and  exists  mainly  .in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Michigan 
and  Wisconsin,  the  Convent  here  being  the  Mother  House  of  the  order, 
and  from  which  are  sent  out  the  workers  in  other  fields. 


Dr.  Patchen  Lost  in  the  Woods. 

As  showing  the  difficulties  that  old  timers  sometimes  had  to 
meet,  it  is  interesting  to  note  an  incident  in  the  medical  practice  of 
Dr.  Patchen.  He  had  been  out  to  the  neighborhood  of  what  is  now 
Marblehead,  and  seeking  to  return  by  a  short  route  got  lost  in  the 
Lake  deNeveu  woods,  and  he  was  not  only  out  nearly  all  night,  but 
a  hard  rain  came  on  and  he  was  drenched  to  the  skin.  Returning 
next  day  to  look  for  something  he  had  lost  during  the  night,  he 
found  that  he  had  crossed  trails  that  would  have  taken  him  out  of 
the  woods  and  that  before  he  tied  his  horse  to  a  tree  and  had  set 
down  and  leaned  against  another  tree  to  wait  for  daylight,  he  had 
been  wandering  up  and  down  and  had  neared  the  lake  without  seeing 
the  water.  This  was  long  before  there  were  any  cottages  there,  and 
roads  or  trails  through  the  woods  were  difficult  to  find,  and  if  struck 
were  not  easy  to  keep.  Passing  over  this  region  now,  one  has  little 
idea  of  the  difficulties  encountered  in  getting  about  in  early  times. 


The  Gillet  Store. 

Among  the  early  stores  in  Fond  du  Lac  was  that  of  George,  T. 
L.  and  Jabe  Gillet,  under  the  name  of  Gillet  Brothers.  It  was  in  a 
wood  building  located  where  the  hardware  stores  of  the  Wilkie  Hard- 
ware Company  and  Geo.  P.  Dana  are  now.  Up  stairs  were  the  law 
offices  of  Gillet,  Truesdell  &  Tyler.  T.  L.  Gillet  met  a  most  horrible 
death  in  the  great  railroad  accident  near  Johnson's  Creek,  in  1858. 
He  was  a  man  generally  known  and  his  death  was  greatly  deplored. 


Only  old  timers  remember  that  B.  F.  Moore  resided  for  a 
number  of  years  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Main  and  Scott  streets, 
and  moved  up  town  after  selling  his  steamboats.  It  was  a  big  sale, 
as  he  owned  nearly  all  the  boats. 


SUDDEN  AND  STARTLING 


Death  of  Frank  B.  Hoskins,  on  September  i8,  1905,  One  of  the  Most 
Startling  in  the  City's  History,  Wholly  Unexpected. 


It  was  on  Tuesday  morning  that  the  people  were  shocked  to 
learn  of  his  death. 

The  news  of  Mr.  Hoskins'  death,  which  was  passed  quickly 
around  town  that  morning,  came  as  a  surprise  and  saddening  shock 
to  almost  every  citizen,  for  perhaps  no  man  in  the  city  was  better 
known,  but  it  was  not  generally  known  that  he  was  even  ill.  He  was 
m  his  office  and  attending  to  l)usiness  as  usual  on  Saturday,  and 
but  very  few  of  his  friends  had  been  informed  of  his  illness  up  to 
Monday  night,  and  to  the  many  who  knew  nothing  of  his  serious 
condition,  the  news  that  he  had  passed  away  during  the  night  seemed 
an  utter  impossibility. 

On  Saturday  Mr.  Hoskins  put  in  a  hard  day's  work  at  business. 
He  was  in  his  office  in  the  Harrison  Postal  Bag  Rack  Company  build- 
mg  during  the  forenoon,  and  iy  the  afternoon  he  went  to  Oshkosh, 
where  the  work  of  constructing  an  interurban  line  into  the  city  over 


322  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

the  Eastern  Wisconsin  Railway  &  Light  Company's  private  right  of 
way  had  been  commenced.  As  president  of  the  company,  Mr. 
Hoskins  was  very  much  interested  in  this  work  and  had  been  giving 
it  much  of  his  attention. 

He  returned  to  his  office  in  this  city  at  the  close  of  the  afternoon, 
and  remarked  to  L.  F.  McLean  that  he  was  ill.  He  went  to  his  home, 
ate  a  very  light  supper  and  retired  soon  after.  He  spent  a  very  bad 
night,  and  Dr.  L.  A.  Bishop,  the  family  physician,  was  summoned. 
Later  in  the  day  he  seemed  somewhat  improved,  but  Monday  after- 
noon he  began  to  fail  rapidly  and  F.  S.  Wiley  was  called  in  consulta- 
tion. It  was  then  decided  to  send  for  a  Chicago  specialist,  Dr.  Sears, 
who  arrived  in  the  city  at  ii  154  o'clock  Monday  night  and  was  on  his 
way  to  the  Hoskins  residence  with  Dr.  L.  A.  Bishop  when  Mr.  Hos- 
kins' death  occurred. 

Autopsy  is  Held. 

Tuesday  morning  an  autopsy  was  held,  and  the  cause  of  Mr. 
Hoskins'  death  definitely  determined.  The  autopsy  was  conducted 
by  Drs.  Sears,  Bishop,  Wiley,  McKnight,  Mears  and  Bowe.  It  re- 
vealed a  condition  of  acute  appendicitis,  with  a  rupture  of  the  appen- 
dix as  the  immediate  cause.  An  obstruction  was  found  in  the  organ, 
resulting  in  inflammation  and  bloating.  The  organ  was  also  afifected 
w^ith  gangrene. 

Serious  Condition  Unrealized. 

The  seriousness  of  Mr.  Hoskins'  condition  was  not  realized  by 
the  family  or  his  closest  friends  until  Monday  afternoon.  He  had  not 
been  in  robust  health  for  several  years,  and  two  years  ago  he  had  a 
serious  illness  but  had  recovered  from  that  and  apparently  was  in  his 
usual  health  up  to  Saturday  afternoon.  But  he  was  a  man  who  bore 
up  under  a  great  deal  and  it  is  probable  that  he  was  really  ill  before 
he  admitted  it  to  himself. 

During  the  first  part  of  his  illness  he  was  in  considerable  pain, 
and  Monday  he  was  delirious  at  times,  but  Monday  evening  he  lost 
consciousness  and  the  end  was  a  peaceful  one. 

No  resident  of  this  city  has  been  more  closely  identified  with  the 
history  of  Fond  du  Lac  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  than  has  Mr. 
Hoskins.  Born  in  Chenango  county.  New  York,  August  25,  1850,  he 
came  with  his  parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  D.  Everett  Hoskins,  to  Fond  du 
Lac  in  December  of  that  year.  He  attended  the  public  schools  here 
and  after  finishing  his  school  work  entered  the  First  National  Bank 
as  a  clerk.  He  left  that  institution  to  become  secretary  of  the 
La  Belle  Wagon  Works,  which  position  he  held  during  1869  and  1870. 
For  five  years  thereafter  he  was  engaged  in  the  hardware  business 
with  the  late  Chapin  Hall,  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Hall  &  Hoskins. 
He  was  elected  register  of  deeds  of  Fond  du  Lac  county  on  the  demo- 
cratic ticket  in  1878.  For  a  number  of  years  thereafter  he  served  as 
a  member  of  the  board  of  education  and  a  member  of  the  common 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  323 

council.  In  1898  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Fond  du  Lac  and  was  re- 
elected in  1899. 

As  president  of  the  library  board  of  the  city  of  Fond  du  Lac  for 
many  years,  Mr.  Hoskins  had  done  a  great  work,  and  the  present 
efficiency  of  that  public  institution  is  largely  due  to  his  labors. 

Probably  no  other  citizen  had  more  business  interests  in  the  city 
than  Mr.  Hoskins.  He  was  president  of  the  Eastern  Wisconsin 
Railway  &  Light  Company,  an  office  he  had  held  for  two  years ;  he 
was  president  of  the  Harrison  Postal  Bag  Rack  Company  and  had 
been  connected  with  that  concern  for  about  twenty  years  as  secretary 
and  president ;  he  was  secretary  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  Canning  Com- 
pany;  vice-president  of  the  Fond  du  Lac  Improvement  Company; 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Citizens'  Building  Company;  a  director 
in  the  Commercial  National  Bank  ;  a  stockholder  in  the  Fond  du  Lac 
Land-  Company  and  the  Nehrbrass  Casket  Company. 

As  an  officer  of  the  Harrison  Postal  Bag  Rack  Company,  Mr. 
Hoskins  became  know^n  all  over  the  United  States,  having  a  large 
acquaintance  with  postoffice  officials  and  railway  clerks. 

But  Mr.  Hoskins"  chief  prominence  outside  of  Fond  du  Lac  came 
from  his  conspicuous  position  in  the  order  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 
He  had  been  a  member  of  Fidelity  Lodge  No.  19,  almost  since  its 
organization  and  from  the  time  he  identified  himself  with  the  order 
took  great  interest  in  the  work.  He  was  made  chancellor  commander 
of  his  home  lodge  and  afterwards  was  elected  grand  chancellor  of 
Wisconsin.  After  that  honor  he  was  elected  as  supreme  representa- 
tive to  the  state  supreme  lodge.  At  the  time  of  his  death  and  for 
several  years  previous  he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  control  of  the 
Endowment  Rank.  The  Frank  B.  Hoskins  company,  Uniform  Rank, 
of  this  city,  was  so  named  in  his  honor. 

Perhaps  no  man  in  the  United  States  stood  higher  in  Pythian 
circles  than  did  Mr.  Hoskins.  He  was  looked  upon  throughout  the 
country  as  a  leader  in  Pythian  lodge  matters.  He  was  in  direct  line 
of  promotion  to  the  office  of  supreme  chancellor,  it  being  generally 
presumed  that  at  the  next  election  or  at  the  one  following,  he  would 
be  tendered  the  office,  the  only  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  honor  not 
coming  sooner  being  that  the  office  had  but  recently  gone  to  a  Wis- 
consin man,  Ogden  H.  Fethers,  of  Janesville,  who,  by  the  way,  was 
one  of  Mr.  Hoskins'  closest  friends. 

Mr.  Hoskins  was  also  a  Mason  of  the  thirty-second  degree,  and  a 
member  of  the  order  of  Elks. 

In  addition  to  the  large  circle  of  friends  within  and  without  these 
orders  who  will  mourn  his  death,  Mr.  Hoskins  leaves  a  number  of 
relatives.  The  immediate  family  consists  of  a  widow  and  the  two 
sons. 

A  mark  of  the  esteem  in  which  the  ex-mayor  was  held  in  his  home 
city  was  shown  by  the  flying  of  flags  at  half  mast  from  public  build- 
ings and  business  houses. 

Business   men  and   long  personal   friends   of   j\Ir.   Hoskins   were 


324  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

ready  to  pay  him  the  highest  tributes  as  a  man  of  sterling  character 
and  a  public  spirited  citizen. 

The  Funeral. 

The  funeral  was  held  at  10:30  o'clock  Thursday  morning  from 
the  residence,  293  Fourth  street.  It  was  in  charge  of  Fidelity  Lodge 
No.  19,  Knights  of  Pythias,  with  Past  Grand  Chancellor  M.  M.  Gillett 
of  this  city,  acting  as  prelate.    Interment  was  at  Rienzi  cemetery. 

It  is  doubtful  that  if  in  the  whole  history  of  the  city,  there  has 
been  a  funeral  as  largely  attended  as  that  of  Mr.  Hoskins,  on  Thursday 
following  his  death.  In  addition  to  the  large  attendance  from  this 
city,  many  prominent  people  from  other  places  were  in  attendance. 
In  short,  the  funeral  of  Frank  B.  Hoskins  was  a  marked  event  in  the 
city's  history. 


Always  Wanted  Bread. 

In  1851,  when  the  last  of  the  Alenomonee  Indians  were  taken  to 
Keshena  by  the  general  government,  the  people  of  Fond  du  Lac  had 
immunity  from  the  clamorous  demand  of  the  squaws  and  children 
for  bread.  They  were  always  as  desirous  for  bread  as  the  men  were 
for  whiskey.  They  were  persistent  beggars  for  bread,  which  they 
would  eat  without  butter  or  grease  of  any  sort,  and  it  made  little 
difference  about  the  age  of  the  bread  or  how  dry  it  was.  Mrs.  Beeson 
once  tried  to  teach  the  squaw  of  Big  Soldier  how  to  make  bread  and 
bake  it  in  a  skillet,  but  after  four  or  five  lessons  gave  it  up  in  disgust. 
Her  last  baking  was  as  bad  as  her  first.  At  the  last  lesson  Mrs. 
Beeson  started  a  fire  out  of  doors  to  make  coals  as  the  squaw  would 
have  to  do  it  at  her  camp.  But  it  was  of  no  effect,  as  she  could  not 
learn,  or  did  not  want  to.  Many  of  the  Brothertown  and  Stockbridge 
women  were  good  bread  makers,  but  these  wild  Indian  women 
seemed  to  be  ignorant  of  everything  necessary  and  could  not  learn  it. 


Death  of  Mrs.  C.  T.  Tracy. 

One  of  the  noted  ladies  of  Fond  du  Lac  county,  and  especially 
notable  in  the  annals  of  Ripon  College,  Mrs.  C.  T.  Tracy,  A.  M., 
passed  away  at  the  college  on  November  12,  1905,  at  the  age  of  87 
years.  She  was  with  the  institution  forty-three  years,  coming  to  it 
as  instructor  in  mathematics  and  botany,  but  soon  became  the  matron 
and  has  ever  since  been  venerated  by  the  students  as  "Mother  Tracy." 
For  some  years  she  held  a  regular  professorship  and  had  received  the 
degree  of  A.  M.  Her  specialty  in  educational  work  was  botany  and 
she  did  a  vast  amount  of  work  upon  the  native  plants  in  this  state  and 
especially  in  the  region  of  Ripon.  Brockway  College  was  the  name 
of  the  institution  when  she  came  to  it,  and  it  was  under  the  presidency 
of  Wm.  E.  Merryman.  It  was  at  that  time  little  more  than  a  pre- 
paratory school,  but  it  rapidly  advanced  to  take  rank  with  the  best  in 
the  state. 


THE  HONORED   DEAD 


Obituaries    of    Members    of    the    Old    Settlers'    Club,    Read    at    the 
Meeting  Held  August  30,   1905. 


It  is  a  rule  of  the  Old  Settlers"  Club,  that  on  the  death  of  a 
member,  the  President  of  the  Club  appoints  some  one  to  prepare  an 
obituary  notice  to  be  read  at  the  next  meeting,  and  preserved  in  the 
records,  to  the  end  that  at  least  the  members  of  the  club  shall  not  be 
forgotten.  The  following  memoirs  were  read  at  the  meeting  August 
30,  1905.  A  few  have  died  since  this  meeting,  including  Frank  B. 
Hoskins,  but  their  club  memoirs  have  not  yet  been  prepared. 

Benjamin  Franklin  Moore. 

The  late  B.  F.  Moore  was  not  a  member  of  this  club,  but  ex- 
pressed himself  to  the  writer  as  ready  to  do  his  full  share  to  support 
it,  financially  or  otherwise,  but  sickness,  deaths  and  absence  from  the 
city  caused  the  neglect. 

He  was  born  in  Maine  in  1819,  of  English  Puritan  stock,  and 
came  to  Wisconsin  in  1841,  landing  at  Green  Bay.  He  brought  a 
stock  of  goods  for  the  Indian  trade,  which  he  loaded  on  a  flat  boat 
and  was  eighteen  days  making  the  trip  to  Taycheedah,  from  which 
place  he  conducted  the  Indian  trade  on  Wolf  river.  John  Beeson 
worked  with  him,  receiving  large  amounts  of  furs  and  maple  sugar 
from  the  Indians.  He  had  a  store  for  the  goods  at  Fond  du  Lac, 
where  the  Indians  came  in  large  numbers  to  trade.  During  this  time 
he  operated  a  farm  two  years  quite  successfully.  For  five  years  he 
handled  lumber  extensively  and  in  1846  entered  the  business  in  com- 
pany with  Curt  Lewis.  In  1846  he  moved  to  Fond  du  Lac  from  Tay- 
cheedah, closed  his  Indian  trade  and  began  buying  and  selling  real 
estate,  in  addition  to  lumber.  In  185 1  he  bought  the  steamboats 
running  on  Lake  Winnebago  and  AVolf  river,  and  at  one  time  owned 
wholly  or  in  part  seven  steamboats,  which  he  continued  to  run  until 
their  work  was  not  remunerative,  when  he  sold  out  to  Capt.  Fitz- 
gerald, of  Oshkosh,  taking  in  the  trade  the  well  known  Colvin  dock 
property,  below  the  Main  street  bridge  in  that  city,  which  he  con- 
tinued to  own  until  a  few  years  ago.  From  this  time  he  dealt  in  real 
estate  until  1874,  when  he  and  A.  G.  Ruggles  bought  the  LaBelle 
Wagon  Works,  but  a  year  later  Mr.  Moore  became  the  sole  owner. 
In  1887,  the  year  of  the  great  booms,  Mr.  Moore  sold  the  wagon  works 
to  a  ]\Iinneapolis  syndicate  for  $180,000,  for  removal  to  Superior. 
The  real  estate  of  the  great  plant  was  bought  by  the  Gurney  Refrig- 
erator Co.,  who  still  own  it.  The  old  factory  buildings  were  burned 
in  1898  and  rebuilt.  Mr.  Moore  and  his  son,  Herbert,  aided  by  James 
H.  Farnsworth,  made  this  factory  one  of  the  greatest  of  Fond  du 
Lac's  business  enterprises. 

He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Wisconsin  legislature  in  1852, 


326  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

but  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  enter  politics  again.  Two  or 
three  times  he  was  sought  for  mayor  of  the  city,  but  each  time  posi- 
tively declined,  as  he  did  also  for  county  treasurer.  In  politics  he  was 
always  a  staunch  republican  and  in  religion  an  agnostic.  His  kind- 
ness of  heart  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  during  the  war  he  relieved  the 
pressing  wants  of  families  of  men  at  the  front. 

On  the  24th  of  October,  1843,  i^  ^^^s  log  cabin  of  Henry  Conklin, 
in  the  town  of  Empire,  occurred  the  marriage  of  B.  F.  Moore  and 
Maria  Mary  Conklin,  and  nine  children  were  born  to  them.  Mr. 
Moore  died  at  his  home  in  this  city,  February  18,  1904,  Mrs.  Moore 
preceding  her  husband  by  only  a  few  months  through  the  silent 
shadows. — A.  T.  Glaze. 

Charles  Rodney  Harrison. 

Another  highly  honored  member  of  this  club  has  passed  over  the 
dark  river  of  death  since  our  last  meeting.  C.  R.  Harrison  was  a 
native  of  Connecticut  and  came  west  in  1849,  landing  at  Sheboygan 
and  thence  came  to  Fond  du  Lac,  where  he  spent  the  balance  of  his 
life.  Mrs.  Harrison  came  the  following  year,  coming  around  the 
lakes  in  the  steamer  Niagara,  the  boat  from  which  John  B.  Macy 
afterwards  lost  his  life.  Mrs.  Harrison  landed  at  Milwaukee  and 
came  to  Fond  du  Lac  in  a  mud-wagon  over  corduroy  roads. 

He  was  a  mechanic  of  more  than  ordinary  ingenuity  and  his 
presence  was  of  great  value  among  the  early  manufacturers  of 
lumber.  If  a  new  sawmill  or  shinglemill  was  to  be  built,  or  an  old 
one  overhauled  or  altered,  Mr.  Harrison  was  sure  to  be  consulted. 
Of  the  early  day  mills  probably  not  one  was  without  machinery  ar- 
ranged after  his  plans.  If  a  mill  failed  to  work  properly,  he  was  called 
in  to  make  it  run  right,  and  he  seldom  failed.  In  his  general  character 
Mr.  Harrison  was  a  man  of  remarkable  force  and  tenacity.  He  never 
gave  up  anything  he  believed  to  be  right.  He  was  so  earnest  in  what 
he  undertook,  so  determined  in  his  work,  that  some  called  him  stub- 
born, but  this  is  hardly  the  proper  word — he  was  simply  earnest  in  his 
efiforts  to  accomplish  an  end. 

When  Mr.  Harrison  entered  the  postal  service  as  route  agent  or 
mail  clerk  on  the  Wisconsin  division  of  the  Northwestern  railroad,  he 
was  not  long  in  making  the  discovery  that  there  was  need  of  great 
improvement  in  the  distribution  of  the  mails.  At  that  time  postal 
cars  and  offices  had  huge  piles  of  lumber  made  into  boxes  in  which 
mail  was  thrown,  and  when  necessary  to  lock  out,  a  pouch  or  sack 
was  taken  to  the  box  and  it  was  emptied  into  it,  being  a  slow  and 
bungling  process.  The  plan  of  Mr.  Harrison  was  to  hang  the  pouches 
on  a  rack  and  distribute  mail  into  them  direct.  In  locking  out  it  was 
only  necessary  to  take  the  pouch  from  the  rack  and  lock  it,  thus 
saving  much  time  and  space  in  the  car  or  office,  for  the  racks  were 
also  used  in  postoffices.  Of  course  the  old  lumber  piles  of  boxes  were 
displaced.  The  Postal  Bag  Rack  Co.  soon  began  the  manufacture 
of  the  racks  in  Fond  du  Lac,  and  Mr.  Harrison  died  in  the  full  con- 
sciousness that  he  had  been  the  means  of  establishing  here,  one  of 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  327 

our  most  successful  industries.  As  the  means  came  into  his  hands, 
Mr.  Harrison  early  began  the  improvement  of  real  estate  and  the 
erection  of  houses,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  any  other  man  in  the  city  did 
as  much  in  this  direction.  And  he  seldom  failed  to  put  money  into 
the  manufacturing  enterprises  as  they  appeared.  In  his  early  days 
here  he  lived  on  Arndt  street  and  at  lowertown,  but  for  many  years 
past  the  family  has  occupied  the  gem  of  a  house  on  Union  street, 
v^here  Mr.  Harrison  died  on  the  19th  of  May,  1905.  He  had  not  been 
well  for  two  or  three  years,  but  his  last  serious  illness  began  in  the 
fall  of  1904,  and  he  was  seldom  out  of  his  house  after  it.  He  leaves 
a  widow  and  one  daughter,  Mrs.   L.   F.   McLean. — A.  T.   Glaze. 

Robert  Kennedy  Satterfield. 

Robert  Kennedy  Satterfield  was  born  in  Berkley  county,  West 
Virginia,  June,  1830.  He  died  November  4th,  1904,  at  the  home  of 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  Lillian  Reinhart,  in  the  town  of  Byron,  Fond  du 
Lac  county,  Wisconsin. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  went  from  West  Virginia  to  the  home 
of  two  maiden  aunts,  Jane  and  Sally  Robenson,  in  Urbena,  Ohio, 
where  he  remained  until  coming  to  Wisconsin  in  the  spring  of  1850. 
The  first  work  he  did  in  Wisconsin  was  grubbing  in  the  town  of 
Fond  du  Lac  for  Lewis  Crofoot,  receiving  fifty  cents  a  day.  In  the 
fall  of  that  year  he  engaged  in  the  logging  business  with  his  brother- 
in-law,  John  Austin,  at  the  place  where  Manawa  is  now  located. 
They  were  offered  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  where  the 
town  now  stands,  for  one  horse.  They  banked  the  logs  in  the  Wolf 
river,  running  them  down  to  Fond  du  Lac  where  they  had  them 
sawed,  and  disposed  of  the  lumber  which  was  used  in  erecting  some 
of  the  first  barns  built  near  Fond  du  Lac.  One  on  the  asylum  farm, 
then  owned  by  Mr.  Todd,  was  the  largest  in  the  vicinity. 

The  following  summer  they  worked  the  land  now  known  as  the 
McNeal  farm  south  of  the  city,  and  in  the  fall  ran  a  threshing  machine 
in  the  town  of  Byron.  The  next  year,  in  addition  to  this  farm,  he 
worked  eighteen  acres  of  the  farm  belonging  to  the  estate  of  Henry 
Roblee.  He  afterward  married  Mrs.  Roblee.  Many  years  of  his  re- 
markably strong  manhood  were  spent  in  clearing  and  improving  the 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  the  Roblee  homestead. 

In  1873  he  purchased  a  farm  in  the  town  of  Waupun.  His  kindly 
genial  nature  won  him  many  friends  in  his  new  home,  and  when  in 
1902  he  sold  his  land  and  purchased  a  residence  in  the  city  of  Waupun, 
his  going  was  regretted  by  all. 

The  remaining  years  of  his  life  were  spent  with  his  son,  K.  L. 
Satterfield,  of  Waupun,  and  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Lillian  Reinhart.  of 
Byron. 

He  had  suffered  much  for  many  years,  but  the  end  came  pain- 
lessly and  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Fond  du  Lac  county  went  peacefully 
to  sleep.— William  Stearns. 

Lyman  F.  Stow. 

In  the  death  of  Lyman  F.  Stow,  this  club  lost  one  of  its  most 
earnest  and  active  members.     He  had  sufifered  about  two  years  from 


328  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

disease  of  the  kidneys,  but  his  familiar  face  was  seen  among  the 
people  upon  the  streets  until  within  a  few  weeks  of  his  death.  He 
was  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Priscilla  Stow,  well  known  Fond  du  Lac 
pioneers,  and  was  born  in  New  Hampshire  in  1825,  came  to  Wiscon- 
sin when  eighteen  years  of  age,  landing  at  Milwaukee  in  1843,  where 
he  engaged  in  a  pail  factory  and  in  the  manufacture  of  barrels  and 
cooperage  generally.  In  1846  he  came  to  Fond  du  Lac,  worked  on  a 
farm  near  Waupun,  and  with  his  father,  in  the  handling  of  flagging 
and  other  stone  work.  In  185 1  he  took  up  carpenter  work  and 
followed  it  a  number  of  years.  In  1861  he  began  the  erection  of 
elevators  at  points  along  various  railroads  in  Wisconsin  and  Michigan, 
a  work  which  he  followed  many  years. 

Lyman  F.  Stow  was  one  of  the  most  active  and  efficient  members 
of  the  old  Fond  du  Lac  fire  department.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers 
of  the  department  and  stayed  with  it  as  a  member  of  Washington 
Volunteer  Fire  Company,  No.  i,  until  disorganized  in  1878.  He 
served  as  a  fireman  more  than  twenty  years.  He  was  for  a  time 
treasurer  of  the  State  Firemen's  Association.  During  nearly  all  of 
his  life  here  he  was  a  resident  at  or  near  the  corner  of  Marr  and  Sixth 
streets.  He  was  married  at  Milwaukee  in  1847,  to  Miss  Martha  Lee, 
and  besides  the  widow,  he  leaves  one  daughter.  Miss  Ella  Josephine. 
His  brother  William,  so  well  known  here  when  a  young  man,  was  a 
prominent  Methodist  minister  in  the  Wisconsin  conference,  and  died 
a  few  years  ago  while  presiding  elder  of  the  Oshkosh  district,  and 
had  been  presiding  elder  of  the  Milwaukee  district.  He  leaves  three 
brothers  still  living.  Lyman  assisted  his  father  in  building  one  of 
the  first  respectable  residences  in  Fond  du  Lac,  a  two  story  house 
still  standing  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Marr  and  Third  streets. 

This  club  honors  the  memory  of  Mr.  Stow  as  being  one  of  its 
most  active  and  efficient  members.  He  fully  appreciated  the  desirable 
character  of  the  work  it  has  in  hand  and  was  ready  at  any  time  to 
work  for  its  growth  and  promote  its  prosperity.  The  death  of  Mr. 
Stow  took  place  at  his  home  on  Marr  street. — A.  T.  Glaze. 

Charles  Henry  DeGroat. 

Col.  DeGroat  was  not  a  member  of  this  club,  yet  is  entitled  to 
some  notice  here.  He  was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York  in  1839, 
and  came  to  Fond  du  Lac  in  1852.  In  1856  he  began  the  bookbinders 
trade  with  his  brother-in-law,  Edward  Sickles.  In  1861,  he  was  one 
of  the  young  men  to  enlist  in  Co.  K,  First  Wisconsin  Infantry. 
After  one  year  he  was  promoted  to  captain  of  Co.  A,  Thirty-second 
Wisconsin,  going  to  the  war  with  that  grand  regiment,  of  which  he 
became  -colonel.  He  was  through  all  the  campaigns  of  the  Twenty- 
third,  ending  in  the  streets  of  Washington  at  the  close  of  the  war  in 
1865.  After  his  return  home  he  was  twice  elected  county  clerk  of  this 
county,  and  then  was  engaged  in  the  foundry  and  machine  shop 
business  many  years.  He  was  married  in  1862  to  Josephine  Allen, 
daughter  of  Capt.  Allen,  and  four  children  were  born  to  them.  Col: 
DeGroat  had  long  been  a  sufiferer  with  kidney  troubles  and  died  ,at 
his  home  in  this  city,  August  14,   1904.      When    once    formed.    Col. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  329 

De  Groat's  opinions  were  not  likely  to  change.  They  were  rock- 
rooted  and  stayed  with  him.  He  could  always  give  good  reasons  for 
his  faith  and  did  not  hesitate  to  do  so.  He  was  a  good  friend,  a  good 
neighbor,  a  good  citizen. — A.  T,  Glaze. 

William  Adams. 

William  Adams  was  the  son  of  Abram  and  Louisa  Adams, 
natives  of  Connecticut,  who  after  their  marriage  moved  to  Rutland 
county,  Vermont,  where  William  was  born  in  1819. 

He  had  a  common  school  education  and  spent  his  early  life  in  his 
native  county  at  farming.  In  1847  he  came  west  to  the  county  of  Fond 
du  Lac,  where  he  selected  a  farm  and  after  a  period  of  time  returned 
to  Vermont,  where  he  was  married  to  Miss  Martha  Peck,  of  his 
native  place.  In  1849  he  came  with  his  bride  and  settled  in  the  town 
of  Forest,  where  they  lived  seventeen  years.  He  was  surrounded  at 
first  on  all  sides  by  Indians,  whose  camps  were  not  far  from  his 
pioneer  home.  They  often  came  to  trade  their  venison  for  corn  and 
other  desired  articles. 

In  those  early  days,  before  any  apples  were  raised  in  this  county, 
when  a  company  were  assembled  for  an  evening's  visit,  the  good  wife 
would  pass  around  for  a  treat  cracked  butternuts,  hickory  nuts  and 
hazel  nuts,  and  sometimes  a  plate  of  nicely  peeled,  snowy  white 
turnips,  which  they  laughingly  called  Wisconsin  apples. 

Mr.  Adams  sold  his  Forest  farm  in  1865  and  bought  the  James 
H.  Haight  farm  in  Empire,  where  he  lived  continuously  until  he  sold 
the  farm  about  two  years  before  his  death,  March  11,  1905,  in  the 
eighty-sixth  year  of  his  age. 

Mr.  Adams  was  a  successful  farmer,  a  keen,  shrewd  business  man, 
honorable  and  straight  forward  in  his  dealings.  He  had  amassed  a 
large  property ;  he  was  selected  for  many  positions  of  honor  and  trust, 
being  elected  to  several  town  offices  at  different  times.  He  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Fond  du  Lac  Insurance  Company  for  many  years,  he 
was  a  prominent  and  active  member  of  our  County  Agricultural 
Association  and  always  did  his  best  to  make  our  Fond  du  Lac  county 
fairs  a  success.  In  politics  he  was  a  republican ;  he  was  strictly 
temperate  in  his  habits,  never  drinking  spirituous  liquors  or  using 
tobacco  in  any  form. 

Mr.  Adams  was  all  his  life  a  man  of  remarkable  vigor  and  activity. 
When  he  was  about  sixty,  the  boys  and  younger  men  of  the  neigh- 
borhood used  to  meet  and  play  ball  on  Saturday  afternoons  in  summer 
and  Mr.  Adams  played  quite  as  well  as  the  best  of  them. 

Mr.  Adams  was  a  worthy  descendent  of  those  hardy  New  Eng- 
land pioneers,  who  overcame  the  obstacles  of  a  bleak  and  rigorous 
climate,  a  rocky  and  sterile  soil,  savage  and  treacherous  Indian  foes; 
a  protracted  struggle  with  the  mother  country  for  very  existence, 
those  pioneers  of  New  England  and  New  York,  active,  energetic  and 
resourceful,  with  their  descendants,  notwithstanding  the  difficulties 
encountered,  have  produced  the  greatest  number  of  useful  inventions, 


330  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

the  finest  sheep  and  cattle,  the  fastest  horses,  and,  last  but  not  least, 
the  finest  race  of  men  and  women  the  world  has  ever  seen. 

Mr.  Adams  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  this  county.  Nearly- 
all  of  them  are  gone — soon  they  will  live  with  us  in  memory  only. — 
Franklin  Swett. 

J.  J.  Lurvey,  of  Oakfield. 

J.  J.  Lurvey,  a  member  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Club  of  Fond  du  Lac 
county,  whose  death  occurred  August  21,  1904,  was  a  son  of  Jacob 
and  Susan  (McKnight)  Lurvey,  natives  of  Connecticut.  After  their 
marriage  they  went  to  Livingston  county,  N.  Y.,  where  they  remained 
until  1845,  when  they  came  west  and  settled  in  Waukesha  county, 
where  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  March  20,  1846.  A  year 
later  the  family  moved  to  Oakfield  and  pre-empted  160  acres  of  land 
in  section  34. 

Mr.  Lurvey's  education  was  received  in  the  common  schools  of 
Oakfield.  He  remained  with  his  parents  until  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  when  he  began  life  for  himself.  He  was  married  in  1867  to  Jane 
Newton,  of  Lomira,  Dodge  county,  Wis.  The  young  people  began 
their  domestic  life  in  a  log  house  on  the  old  homestead,  where  four 
children  were  born  to  them,  three  of  whom  are  still  living.  Ada,  the 
eldest,  is  the  wife  of  C.  A.  Worthing,  the  present  clerk  of  the  courts 
of  Fond  du  Lac  county;  Myrtie,  now  Mrs.  George  Hansen,  of  the 
Consolidated  Highland  Creamery  Company,  and  Eugene,  who  lives 
on  the  homestead.  Mrs.  Lurvey  died  in  June,  1874,  and  a  year  later 
Mr.  Lurvey  was  wedded  to  his  first  wife's  sister.  Miss  Julia  Newton, 
of  Lomira. 

The  immediate  family  consists  of  Mrs.  J.  J.  Lurvey,  Lawson-E. 
Lurvey,  a  rising  young  attorney  who  has  recently  located  in  Fond 
du  Lac;  E.  J.  Lurvey,  a  promising  young  business  man,  who  is 
largeh'  interested  in  the  Consolidated  Highland  Creamery  Company, 
and  Miss  Vida  Lurvey,  a  recent  graduate  of  the  village  High  school, 
and  a  popular  young  lady. 

Mr.  Lurvey  was  a  warm  friend  of  higher  education,  and  at  the 
time  of  his  death  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  board  of  education. 
He  was  also  president  of  the  village  board,  a  director  of  the  bank  of 
Oakfield  and  president  of  the  Oakfield  Telephone  Company. 

Mr.  Lurvey  was  a  very  successful  farmer  and  business  man.  He 
left  a  property  estimated  at  $75,000,  consisting  of  a  beautiful  home 
in  the  village,  besides  nearly  600  acres  of  land  in  Fond  du  Lac  and 
Dodge  counties,  and  large  interests  in  three  skimming  stations  and 
three  creameries.  He  had  always  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the 
progress  and  advancement  of  the  best  interests  of  the  town  and 
village,  and  was  known  as  one  of  Oakfield's  solid  and  substantial 
business  men.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  man  in  the  village  was  more 
respected  and  esteemed  than  the  deceased. 

Such  men  as  Mr.  Lurvey  have  done  much  to  develop  Fond  du 
Lac  county  and  make  it  what  it  is  today,  the  best  known  and  most 
prosperous  in  Wisconsin. — Dr.  J.  W.  Burns. 


.  FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  331 

William  Merrill,  of  Oakfield. 

William  Merrill,  one  of  the  oldest  members  of  the  Old  Settlers' 
Club  of  Fond  du  Lac  county,  died  at  his  residence  in  the  village  of 
Oakfield,  February  5,  1905,  after  a  short  illness,  of  pneumonia. 

Mr.  Merrill  was  born  in  Seneca,  N.  Y.,  in  1836,  where  he  re- 
mained until  young  manhood,  attending  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  town  during  the  winter  months,  and  working  on  the  farm  and 
on  the  Erie  canal  during  the  remaining  months  of  the  year.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Martha  Avery  of  the  same  town,  in  1854,  and  a  year 
later  the  family  moved  to  Illinois,  where  they  remained  two  years 
and  then  came  to  Fond  du  Lac  county  and  located  on  a  farm  a  short 
distance  west  of  the  present  village  of  Oakfield.  Here  they  remained 
until  1865,  when  the  farm  was  sold  and  a  larger  one  purchased  in  the 
western  part  of  the  town,  near  Rock  River.  The  family  resided  there 
until  six  years  ago,  when  Mr.  Merrill  became  tired  of  active  life, 
rented  his  farm  to  one  of  his  sons  and  moved  to  the  village,  where 
Mrs.  Merrill  and  her  daughter  reside. 

The  deceased  is  survived  by  a  wife  and  daughter,  Sedate,  of  the 
village  of  Oakfield ;  Clarence,  of  Spokane,  Wash. ;  E.  D.,  of  Waupun, 
and  J.  W.,  who  resides  on  the  old  homestead. 

Mr.  Merrill  was  widely  known  in  Fond  du  Lac  county  as  a 
successful  farmer  and  a  prominent  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church, 
with  which  he  had  been  affiliated  for  many  years.  He  was  honest 
and  industrious,  and  a  man  highly  respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 
He  was  a  very  large  man,  standing  six  feet  five  inches  in  his  shoes, 
and  was  known  for  many  years  as  the  "Prairie  Giant."  Besides  being 
large  of  stature,  he  was  big  hearted,  and  was  ever  ready  to  contribute 
freely  to  those  in  distress. 

In  the  death  of  Mr.  Merrill,  the  community  has  lost  a  valuable 
citizen  and  this  society  a  worthy  member. — Dr.  J.  W.  Burns. 


Pete  Rupp  and  the  Rats. 

Peter  Rupp,  afterwards  sheriff  of  this  county,  with  his  brother, 
Louis  Rupp,  in  an  early  day  had  a  liquor  store  next  north  of  where 
G.  Scherzinger  has  had  his  jewelry  store  many  years.  After  a  time 
Peter  got  into  the  habit  of  putting  down  more  booze  than  was  pleas- 
ing to  his  friends  and  they  resolved  to  try  an  experiment.  In  the 
conspiracy  was  his  brother,  Louis,  Tommy  Heil,  Jo.  Wolf  and  Mr. 
Fromm.  Tommy  Heil,  the  mechanical  genius,  made  a  lot  of  wooden 
rats,  painted  them  the  right  color,  attached  strings  to  a  few  of  them, 
and  when  all  was  ready,  took  them  into  the  store  and  placed  them 
on  the  floor  and  on  the  barrel  where  Pete  went  for  his  morning  drink. 
Louie  was  on  the  watch  for  him,  hid  in  the  store.  Three  or  four  of 
the  rats  moved  a  little  but  all  the  rest  stood  their  ground.  Pete  was 
frightened  and  left  in  a  hurry  and  Louis  gathered  up  the  rats.  When 
Louie  told  him  he  saw  no  rats  there,  Pete  was  sure  he  had  delirium 
tremens  and  quit  drinking  then  and  there  and  not  long  after  sold  out 
the  liquor  store  and  went  into  grain  and  politics.  Tommy  Heil  told 
the  writer  about  it  and  declared  it  to  be  a  good  job. 


332  BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 

An  Early  Picture  Maker. 

The  best  picture  gallery  in  Fond  du  Lac  in  1857  was  that  of  Geo. 
B.  Green,  and  the  best  pictures  made  were  called  Ambrotypes  and 
Pearltypes.  Up  to  this  time  we  had  various  changes  upon  the  old 
Daguerreotypes.  O.  E.  Wilkins,  J.  W.  Taylor  and  one  or  two  others 
made  these  sun  pictures,  and  the  photograph  did  not  get  its  start 
until  i860,  and  then  in  crude  form.  The  photograph  as  we  have  it 
now,  has  been  a  growth.  A  vast  number  of  changes  have  come  and 
gone,  as  well  as  of  operators  in  the  business. 


Early   Day  Waterworks. 

Our  present  waterworks  dating  from  1885,  were  not  the  first  pro- 
posed for  the  cit}^  of  Fond  du  Lac.  As  early  as  1850  a  company  was 
formed  to  lay  a  pipe  line  from  the  spring  on  the  then  Phillips  farm, 
to  the  city,  but  it  was  found  that  the  line  would  be  useless  in  winter 
from  freezing,  or  the  pipe  would  have  to  be  laid  so  deep  as  to  be  ex- 
pensive, and  nothing  further  came  of  it.  And  about  that  time  the 
discovery  of  the  artesian  wells  was  made,  by  which  abundance  of 
clean  water  could  be  had  at  80  to  120  feet  and  there  was  need  of 
nothiner  more. 


When  Judge  David  Taylor  was  on  the  bench  of  the  circuit  court 
for  this  county,  he  had  a  peculiar  abhorrence  of  trivial  cases,  and 
many  a  time  prevailed  upon  parties  to  settle  them  without  trial.  The 
attorneys  were  sometimes  displeased,  but  he  cared  little  for  that. 


The  names  of  Reuben  Simmons,  F.  D.  McCarty  and  his  father, 
Francis  McCarty,  Joseph  Stow  and  some  others,  were  often  linked 
together  in  early  day  building  operations.  Many  early  day  structures 
as  far  back  as  1841,  were  erected  by  them,  here  and  in  Taycheedah. 
The  remains  of  a  few  may  yet  be  seen,  but  they  are  becoming  very 
scarce.     In  a  little  while  none  will  remain. 


Edward  Pier  used  to  say  at  the  time  our  money  was  very  poor 
and  bank  discounts  very  high,  that  no  business  man  could  pay  twelve 
to  twenty  per  cent  for  money.  When  asked  how  those  with  money 
and  the  banks  could  secure  interest,  his  reply  was,  they  can  better 
afford  to  go  without  it  than  the  business  man  can  afiford  to  go  to  the 
wall.     Who  will  say  that  Edward  Pier's  head  was  not  level? 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


333 


Armory  E. 

Located  on  north  side  of  East  Second  street,  near  Main.  Built 
in  1888  and  1900. 

Full  Roster  of  Company  E. 

After  Company  E  was  ordered  into  service,  it  was  recruited  up 
to  the  maximum  and  left  the  state  with  full  ranks.  The  service  of  the 
Company  in  the  Spanish-American  war  may  be  found  elsewhere  in 
this  work,  but  the  following  is  the  complete  roster  of  the  Company 
when  it  left  the  state : 


Edwin  T.  Markle,  Captain. 
Emil  C.  Plonslvy,  First  Lieut. 
Adolph  E.  Kliemchen,  Second  Lieut. 
Egelhoff,  August  C,  First  Sergt. 
Brugger,  Carl  H.,  Q.  M.  Sergt. 
Seeve,  William  J.  H.,  Sergt. 
Jaffke,  Herman  C,  Sergt. 
Bruett,  William  F.,  Sergt. 
Lubitz,  Frank  J.,  Sergt. 
Trier,  Adolph  M.,  Corp. 
Lee,  Jay  L.,  Corp. 
DeSombre,  William  E.,  Corp. 
Dittmar,  James  W.,  Corp. 


Wheeler,  Frank  J.,  Corp. 
Cleveland,  Charles  C,  Corp. 
Langlois,  Noah  V.,  Corp. 
Crippen,  George  A.,  Corp. 
Skinner,  Frank  L.,  Corp. 
Krebs,  Fred  C,  Corp. 
Hass,  Albert,  Corp. 
Bechaud,  Rudolph  A.,  Corp. 
Zinke,  Carl  R.,  Mus. 
Zinke,  Alfred  R.,  Mus. 
Clark,  Edwin  W.,  Art. 
Vandervort,  Frank,  Wag. 


334 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


Abel,  Louis  A. 
Allen,   Ellsworth   H. 
Arnold,  Oscar. 
Arthur,  George  A. 
Babcock,   Benjamin  F. 
Ballanz,  William  H. 
Bettac,  William. 
Birr,  Paul. 
Bodle,  George. 
Born,  George. 
Born,  Jacob. 
Breitzman,  Arthur  W. 
Brunet,  Adelbert  R. 
Brunkhorst,  Albert  G. 
Burnton,  Carroll  R. 
Cady,  Arthur  Bertine. 
Calvert,  Frederick  W. 
Canniff,  Ralph  E. 
Carney,  J.  Edward. 
Carney,  John  F. 
Caselton,  William  C. 
Cavanagh,  Lawrence  P. 
Christenson,  Henry. 
Clark,  Peter. 
Conway,  William  R. 
Derusha,  Edward. 
Dircks,  John. 
Eiteneuer,  Peter. 


Estarbrook,  Robert  C. 
Floody,  Edward. 
Galvin,  Joseph  F. 
Groesbeck,  Garrett. 
Groesbeck,  John  W. 
Guhl,  Ferdinand. 
Haberkorn,  Albert  H. 
Heath,  George  W, 
Hornig,  Frank  W. 
Huelsmann,  Oscar  A. 
Hughes,  Robert  L. 
Jaeger,  Charles  W. 
Jesmier,  Frank. 
Keilberg,  Ernst. 
Kempf,  Frank  H. 
Kreger,  Charles  L. 
Kroll,  Gustav. 
Kuhlmann,  Louis. 
La  Rose,  Charles. 
Lubitz,  Christ.  F. 
Markow,  Frank  H. 
McCourt,  Arthur. 
Mead,  Richard. 
Mentch,  William. 
Miller,  John  A. 
Molitor,  John  M. 
Monahan,  Michael  J. 
Pagel,  Albert. 


Panger,  Alfred. 
Quambush,  William. 
Raidy,  Michael  K. 
Riese,  August. 
Roberts,  Berrez  A. 
Rodgers,  Arthur. 
Rouse,  Albert  M. 
Ryan,  Patrick. 
Sampson,  Avery. 
Scherzinger,  Henry. 
Schwartz,  Abraham. 
Simcosky,  Frank. 
Small,  Adam  H. 
Small,  Robert  B. 
Smith,  Edward  J. 
Taylor,  Frank  C. 
Tiffany,  Claude  A. 
Van  Dorsten,  Paris  R. 
Van  Scooter,  Lester. 
Voell,  Frank. 
Werner,  Edwin. 
Wetzel,  Ferdinand. 
Wheeler,  Oscar  N. 
Wickert,  Jake  H. 
Wilbert,  Joseph. 
Williams,  Robert  S. 
Wirtz,  Robert  H. 


Fond  du  Lac  High  School. 

Located  on  Amory  and  Merrill  streets.     Built  in  1875. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


335 


Henry  D.  Hitt. 

Entered  his  farm  in  Oakfield  in   1847,  and  has  lived  on  it  ever 
since. 


Madame  de  Neveu. 

Came  to  Wisconsin  in   1838  and  has  lived  at  her  Empire  home 
continuously  to  the  present. 


336 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


Masonic  Temple. 

Located  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Sheboygan  and  Marr  streets, 
Fond  du  Lac,  Wis. 


Fond  du  Lac  Postoffice. 

Located  at  the  northeast  corner  of  West  First  and  Macy  streets. 
Erected  in  1905  at  a  cost  of  $65,000. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  337 

^«;^HITTELSEY'S 

The  Pioneer  Store       ^       An  Attractive  Place  for  Veterans 

Prices   Always   Satisfactory 


This  business  was  established  by  John  Sharpe  in  1856  and  Mr.  Whittelsey 
came  from  New  Yorii  and  joined  Mr.  Sharpe  in  1861.  Pioneers  of  city  and 
county  are  pleased  to  call  at  this  Pioneer  Dry  Goods  Store. 

la  the  not  distant  future  this  business  will  be  transferred  to  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Forest  Avenue  and  into  the  finest  building  the  city  has  ever  had. 


0"*Brien  T>ry  Goods  Co. 

Main  Street,        =        Opposite  Palmer  House 
FOND  DU  L^C,  WISCONSIN 


Latest  Styles  and   Great    Variety  in  Dry  Goods,  Latest 

Novelties  known  to  the  Trade.    Almost  Endless 

List  of  Notions,   JFiirs,   JRugs^  JEtc. 


When  shopping,  do  not  fail  to  call  at  O'Brien's  and  save  money. 

THE  BIG  WHITE  STORE 

THE  PEOPLE'S  FAVORITE  SHOPPING  PLACE 

For  Dry  Goods,  Cloaks,  Suits,  Millinery,  Carpets,  Crockery,  Etc. 

Fine  Dress  Making  to  Order. 

Best   Treatment  and    Lowest  Prices   has    made    this    the 
Popular  Store. 

J.  F.  GRUENHECK 


338 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


Elks'  Club  House 

Located  Northeast  Corner  Sheboygan  and  Portland  Streets. 
Erected  in  1903  and   1904. 


ARMORY  E  HALL 

Largest  ana  test  Hall  m  Fona  du  Lac  for 
Conventions,  Parties  ana  all  Large  Assem- 
blies. Located  on  East  Second  Street,  less 
than  a  block  from  Main  Street. 

IN  EVERY    RESPECT   FIRST-CLASS 


-Apply  to  CAPT.    W.  J.  SEEVE,,Manager 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


339 


L.  A.  WiUiams  W.  E.   Griswold 

F.  W.  Ctadbourne 


WILLIAMS,   GRISWOLD 
^  CHADBOURNE 

ATTORNEYS 


Fond  du  Lac  National  Bank  Building 
Telephone    122 


FOND  DU  LAC  JS  WISCONSIN 


Maurice  McKenna 

ATTORNEY     AT     LAW 

153    S.    MAIX    STREET 

FOND   DU    LAC  •WISCONSIN 


MORSE  &  JOMNSON 

ATTORNEYS  AT  LAW 

Telephone  786-2 

136  S.   /nAlN  STREET 
EOND  DU    LAC,   WISCONSIN 

Roy  L.  /*Aorse 
David  E.  Johnson 


M.    K.    RHILLY 
H.    M.  FELLENZ 
J.  P.   RBIL.LY 


REILLY 
FELLENZ  & 
REILLY 

LAWYERS 


Corner  First  and   Main  Streets 
Fond   du    Lac,   Wisconsin 


Herbert  E.  S^^^ett 

Collections                                German    Spoken 

O.    H,    ECKE 

LAWYER 

Attorney   at   LaW 

Business  Transacted  in  National. 

State,  District,    Circuit,  County 

Office   Hours 

and  Local  Courts 

9  to  12,  2  to  5 

Phone  8563 

Main   Street 

92    South    Main    Street 

Fond  du  Lac,  Wis. 

FOND    DU    LAC,   WIS. 

340 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


ylmory  "Block  and  Hall 

Located  at  the  head  of  Sheboygan  Street.  Built  after  the  prevailing  style  of  architecture  of  the 
time  in  New  York.  Originally  the  floors  were  five  steps  abov»"  the  sidewalk.  In  1869  the  floors 
were  lowered  to  their  present  position.  The  Hall  was  opened  In  1857  by  the  Peak  Family  of  Bell 
Ringers  with  the  largest  crowd  present  that  ever  was  in  it. 

The  Savings  Bank  of  W.  E.  Cole  occupies  the  south  one-third. 


The  Holland  Dutch  Remedy 

A  prescription  by  Dr.  Haltemann,  a  Holland  physician  and  unques- 
tionably the  Best  Remedy  Known  for  all  Troubles  of  the  Bowels,  Liver 
and  Kidneys. 

Wholly   Vegetable   and    Harmless 


Prepared  by  A.  T.  GLAZE 

^:^zzzzs'»—  FOR  SALE  BY  ALL  DRUGGISTS 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  341 

COLE  SAVINGS   BANK 


INCORPORATED 


Deposits  of  $1.00  and   upward  received 
Interest  Paid  Semi-annually 

Wm.   E.   cole.  President  VVm.   I.    COLE,   Cashibr 


ESTABLISHED    1875- 


The   Anderson  Vehicle   Company 

Dealers  in  all  kinds  of  Vehicles,  Automobiles,  Fur  Coats  and  Robes, 
Cutters  and  Sleighs,  Binders,  Mowers,  and  Hay  Rakes,  and  any- 
thing else  required  on  a  farm.      Give  us  a  call. 

West  Second    Street       ^=--       Fond    du   Lac,    Wisconsin 

W.   J.   CHEGWIN 

Furniture   and    Picture    Framing 

No.  20  East  Second   Street  Fond  au  Lac,    \Visconsin 


HENRY  'BROS. 

FLOUR,    FEED,    GRAIN,    SALT 
CEMENT  AND  BUILDING  MATERIALS 

FOND    DU    LAC,   WISCONSIN 


For  a  Stylish  Suit  or  Overcoat  go  to 

TRELEVEN  BROTHERS 

102  SOUTH  MAIN  STREET  FOND  DU  LAQ  WIS. 

BSTABLiISHEO    1883 

CLARK  MANUFACTURING  COMPANY 

L.    H.    CLARK 

Finest  machinery  in  the  city  for  building  Gasoline  Engines 
and  the  manufacture  of  Novelties  and  Models.  Repairing 
done  neatly  and  promptly. 

Shops    on    Forest    Avenue    near   the    Wisconsin    Central    Station 
FOND    DU    LAC,    WISCONSIN 


342 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  POND  DU  LAC 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


343 


DR.  H.  T.  SACKETT 

DENTIST 

Established  25  years 


OFFICES     59-61     MAIN     STREET 
(Opposite  Forest  Ave.) 


EQUIPPED       WITH       ALL       MODERN 
APPLIANCES 


COMPETENT     ASSISTANTS     ARE 
CONSTANTLY     IN     ATTENDANCE 


FOR  ARTIFICIAL  TEETH  AND  THE 
ARTISTIC  RESTORATION  OF  FACIAL 
CONTOUR,   GO   TO      .      .      . 

Dr.  G.  A.  Hildreth 

Whose  improvements  in  the  methods 
employed  in  restoring  contour,  youth, 
tone  and  expression  to  the  face  are 
such  that  it  is  possible  to  ward  off 
the  appearance  of  age  by  ten  to 
fifteen  years. 

Tie    HildretK    Dental    Parlors 

134    S.     MAIN,    CORNER    SECOND 


MODERN  DENTISTRY 


Dr.  C.  C.  Trowbridge 


DENTIST 


150     SOUTH     MAIN     STREET 

FOND    DU    LAC,   WISCONSIN 


Ji  Word  of  Instruction 

There  is  no  time  after  birth  that  a 
child  should  not  be  under  the  watch  of  a 
competent  dentist.  Many  ot  the  so-callea 
disturbances  of  teething  are  not  the  re- 
sult of  teething  at  all,  but  of  improper 
and  unsanitary  feeding.  Just  so  are 
many  of  the  inflammations  of  the  soft 
tissues,  and  if  a  proper  diagnosis  were 
made  and  proper  Instructions  given,  they 
would  speedily  disappear.  It  is  possible 
for  any  person  to  reach  adult  and  even 
pass  through  their  entire  life  without 
decay  of  the  teeth.  If  only  the  advice  ot 
a  competent  dental  physician  were 
heeded. 

A    PRACTITIONER 


J.   K.  WILKINS 
First    Street   Livery 

¥    ¥    ¥ 

The  equipment  of  this  barn  unsurpassed 
by  any  in  the  city.  Everything  first-class 
and  prices  reasonable 

HACKS     RUN     TO     ALL     TRAINS 


L.  A.    BISHOP 

HOMEOPATHIC 
PHYSICIAN    AND    SURGEON 


MARR    S":"REET 
Between    First    and    Second    Streets 

FOND    DU     LAC,    WIS. 

Office    Hours 

7:30  to   10  a.    m. 
1:00  to  3:00 
7:00  to  8:30  p.  m. 


344 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 


Sheriff's  "R^esidence  and  County  Jail 

Located  on  Linden  Street,    South  of  the  Court  House. 
Built  in  1870  and  Improved  at  Various  Times. 


ALBERT   HAUER 


DEALER  IN 


«i^ 


Paints,    Oils,    AiVall     Paper 
Glass  ana    \V^inao\v   Snades 


173  SOUTH  MAIN  STREET 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


345 


Wheeler  &  Wilson 
New  Home 
and  Other  Standard 
Makes  of 
Sewing  Machines 


Pianos  Tuned 
Pianos  Repaired 
Pianos  for  Rent 
and  Sold  on  Easy 
Payments 


Foe//  Music  House 

Wholesale  and  Retail 

104  South  Main  Street  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis. 

Telephone  306 


C.  A.   FURSTNOW 


Is     the     Largest 
Dealer  in 


Watches,  Clocks,  Jewelry,  Diamonds 
Silverware,  Fine  Cut  Glass,  Umbrellas 
Edison,  Victor  and  Columbia  Talking 
Machines  and  l^ecords,  also  All  Kinds  of 
Musical  Instruments  at  Lowest  Prices 

77  SOUTH    MAIN  STREET 


When  you  want  Hard 
Coal  free  from  dust  and 
dirt,  place  your  order  with 
the  

A.  TAIT 
FUEL  CO. 


M.    Fitzsimons 
fe?    Sons  = —    — 

MAIN  AND  FIRST  STREETS 

BOOTS  and  SHOES 


Best    Work    at   Reasonable    Prices 

JACOB  BRENNER 

MANTJFAOTORER    OF 

Galvanized  Iron 

Sheet  Iron  and  Tin 

Thos.  H.  Hastings 

Liver y  and 
Undertaking 

Livery  Phone  92 

SHOP   ON   THIRD   8TREET 
POND    DU    LAC.   WIS. 

16  Sheboygan   Street 

Undertaking    Phone    86 
139  S.    Main   Street 

Roofing    and    House    Trimmings  a 
Specialty 

FOND    DU    LAC,   WIS. 

346 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


"Bishop's  K^esidence  and  Mother  House 

Located  on  East  Division  Street,  Corner  of  Amory. 
Mother  House  Built  in  1905  at  a  Cost  of  $60,000. 


TRANKLIN  SWETT 

ARChlTECT 

Plans  and  Estimates  Prepared 
on  Short  Notice  .  .  . 

Rooms  rirst  house  East  of  Armory  E 

.  .  .  rOND  DU  LAC,  WISCONSIN 


PROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


347 


Established  1873 


JOHN  HUGHES 


DEALER    IN 


Shelf  and  Heavy  Hardware 

Iron  in  Great  Variety 

Heating  and   Cooking   Stoves 

Tinware,  Nails 

Blacksmiths'    Supplies 

Wagon  Stock,  Cordage,  etc. 


FOND  DU  LAC,  WISCONSIN 


Monarchy  Malleable 

Iron  and  Steel  Ranges 


TKusch   &  Hirth 

Hardware 

142  S.  Main  St.  Fond  du  Lac.   fVis. 


J.  F.  Wegncp  &  Co. 

Wilkie 

'Wholesale  and   Retail  Dealers  in 

Hardware 

Hardware 

Stoves    and 

Co. 

Tin^ware 

Nails,  Saws,   Axes,  Tools,  Milk  Cans 
Rope,    Chain,    Iron,    Steel,    Etc.,    Etc. 

SHELF  AND  HEAVY 

¥    ¥    ¥ 

HARDWARE 

Good  Goods  ! 

Small   Profits  ! 

BUILDERS'    HARDWARE 
A  SPECIALTY 

Quick   Sales  ! 

¥    ¥    ¥ 

108  South  Main  Street 

Fond  du  Lac,  Wis. 

'Phone,  Red  925 

Main  Street 

348 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


Landing  at   Winnebago  Parii, 

Located  Eight  Miles  North  of  the  City  on  East  Shore 
of  Lake  Winnebago. 


JOHN    P.    HESS 


UP 

-TO-DATE 

JEWELER 

AND 

OPTICIAN 

M 

M 

88    SOUTH    MAIN     STREET 
FOND    DU     LAC,    WISCONSIN 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


349 


KSTABLTSHED    1870 


Bowe  &  Van  Blarcom 

The  Oldest  Established 
Real  Estate  Agency  in 
Fond   du   Lac    County 


If  you   wish   to  Buy,   Sell   or   Ex- 
changee Real  Estate,  call  on  us 


Auction   Sales  of  all  sorts  of 
Property  a  Specialty 


SEE 


Anderson  &  Watson 


FOR 


real  estate 
insurance' 
and  loans 


136    SOUTH     MAIN    STREET 


Oldest    Music    House   in    the    City 

B.    H.    Anaerson 


DEALER     IN 


Pianos  and  Organs 

Violins,  Guitars,   Manaolins 
Small  Instruments 
Sneet  Music 

and   all  sorts  or 

Musical  Mercnandise 

FOND    DU    LAC,   WISCONSIN 


Old    Settlers 
Young  Settlers 

In  fact  every  one  can  be 
suited  with  Furniture 
at 

Kremer  'Bros. 

The  New  Furniture   Store 

36=38  No.  Main  Street 
Reinig  "Blocfi 


S.  H.    CHENEY 

MANUFACTURER     OV 

Galvanized  Iron,   Tin  and  Sheet 
Iron  Work  of  All  Kinds 

Roofing    and    House    Trimming 
a  Specialty 

East  First  Street,  near  Main 
Fond  du  Lac  "Wis. 


Spencer  Palmer 

JOB    PRINTER 

Main  Street,  near  Second  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis. 

¥    ¥    ¥ 

Business  Established  More  Than 
Thirty  Years  -i-  Work  Always 
First-class    and    at    Fair    Prices 


350 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


W  -a 


■w    b 


•J 

rt 

0 

u 

t3 

. 

60 

c 

0 

k4 

^ 

'I 

t/) 

0 

0, 

03 

0 

<u 

en 

^ 

*» 

«) 

CL, 

a 

-a 

4) 

V 

0 

m 

, — 1 

T3 

a 
0 
X 

a 
a 
0 

0 

^ 

rt 

an 

0 

►4 

^ 

(1) 

lu 

11 

0 

Oi 

w* 

•§ 

0 

UJ 

a 

rt 

o    «u 

i^    CI 


©.  5cl?erztnger 


/T 


Has  been  continuously  in  business  for  fifty 
years.  This  is  the  best  proof  of  honest 
dealing,  good  work  and  reasonable  prices. 


\6  Soni\:i  ViXain  Street 


^onti  bu  i.ac,  Wisconsin 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  351 

Wagner  Dry  Goods  Compant; 

122=124  JStain  Street,  corner  Second 

Dry  Goods,    Notions,  Carpets 

Cloaks,    Rugs,  Lace  Curtains,  etc. 

SATISFACTION    GUARANTEED ^ 


^-^r^AOOri      'O  90-92  MAIN  STREET 

^D    I     llAA^D^DE^L    ^D     Opp.  Commercial  National  Bank 

Always  Something  Neiv 


Dry   Goods,    Notions,    Suits,    Cloaks    and    Furs 
The  Store  that  Keeps  the  Prices  Down 

RICHARD  HAAS  GRAND    CENTRAL  fred  wagner 


DRY    GOODS,    CARPETS,    RUGS     AND    LINOLEUM 


NO.  22  FOREST  AVENUE 
FOND  DU  LAC,  WIS. 


T.  E.  AHERN  CO. 

CLOTHIERS 

51-53   Soutk  Main  Street 


352 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


West  Front   of  Grafton  Hall 

On  Sophia  Street  North  of  The  Cathedral. 
Built  in   1900. 


N.    W.    SALLADE' 


ATTORNEY  AT  LAW 


FIRST    NATIONAL    BANK    BUILDING 


FOND  DU  LAC.  WISCONSIN 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


353 


GRAFTOJW     HALL 


School  and  College 
for    Young    Ladies 


College  of  Music  M  School  of  Decora^ 
tion  M  Designing  M  Domestic  Science 
and  Library  Courses 

Rev.  B.  T.  Rogers,  Warden 


Established  1864  -»».■» 

The  RUBER  BROTHERS 
Largest  Stock  of  Drugs  and  Medicines  in  the  City 

Books  and  Stationery  in  a  Great  Variety.  Notions,  Paints 
and  Oils.  Mixed  Paints,  Wall  Papers.  Curtains  and  Ev- 
erything  in  the  line  of  Druggists'  Sundries  ^  ^ 


-PRESCRIPTIONS  A  SPECIALTY 

R.  POWRIE 

Manufacturer  of  and  Dealer  in 

FINE  MONUMENTS 
AND  STATUARY 

MARBLE.   GRANITE   AND  STONE 

Pneumatic  Tools  for  Carving  and  Lettering 
30  EAST  FIRST  STREET 


Cut  shown  13  of  Monument  Designed  and  Executed 
for  Ihe  Iron  Brigade  by  R.  Powrie.  Erected  in 
Arlington  Cemetery,  \Va8liington,  D.  C. 


354 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAG 


Lakeside  Park  and  Fountain 

Located  on  Lake  Shore,  One  Mile  North 
of  the  Court  House. 


GIFFIN  ^  SUTHERLAND 

jittorneys 


^ 


FIRST  NATIONAL  BANK  BUILDING 

FOND  DU  LAC,     WISCONSIN 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


355 


E.  G 

r.    HEATH.    Managek 

Fo 

nd 

du 

Lac 

Steam 

Laun 

dry 

34 

EAST 

FIRST    STREET 

M               M 

TELEPHONE 

21 

Eqi 

lipped 

with 

Very    latest 

machinery 

Do 

the  m 

ost  stylish   and  up'to=date  Work 

RE/niNGTON  DRUG  CO. 


L.  cJ     RE/niNG  I  ON 


cJAS.  T.  UANA 


Our    Drug    Experience   of  over  a  quarter 
of  a  century  at  your  service  =^ 


72  S.  MAIN  STREET 


^ 


rOND  DU  LAC.  WIS. 


Dr.  Reed's  Cushion  Sole  Shoes  for  Ladies  and  Men 

THE     EASIEST     SHOE     ON      EARTH 

We  make  shoes  to  order.  We  take  your  measure  and 
guarantee  a  perfect  fit.  Up-to-date  shoes  at  popular 
prices. 

GEORG,   THE   SHOE   MAN 


70  S.   MAIN   STREET 


FOND  DU  LAC,  WIS. 


Martin  Herbert 

PRACTICAL 
SHOEMAKER 

Shoes  made  to  order  on  Short  Notice. 
Repairing  done  while  you  wait. 
Prices  Low  and  Work  Up-to-date. 
Hand-sewed  Work  a  Specialty, 
Give  me  a  call. 


JO  East  Second  St. 


Fond  du  Lac,  Wis. 


356 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 


Taylor  "Park 

Located  on  the  West  Side  of  the  City 
and  Near  Forest  Avenue. 


FRANK  O.   PRINSLOW 


DEALER  IN 


Farm   Implements,   ^A^agons,    Carriages 

DouMe   Disc   Drills   and   Seeders,  Gasoline  Engines 
and     Tkreshers,     Wind-mills,     Sewing     Mackines, 


X-wine,     Grass    Seed,     etc. 


TELEPHONE  702 

19-21-23  E.  First  Street  FOND  DU  LAC,  WIS. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  357 


President,  L.  A.   WILLIAMS 
Treasurer,  W.  E.  GRISWOLD 
Secretary.   F.  W.  CHADBOURNE 


FOND    DU    LAC    COUNTY 
ABSTRACT       COMPANY 


incorporated 


Owners  of  the  Original  Abstract  Books  and  Records  of  Fond  du  Lac  County 
supplemented  by  a  Complete  New  System  of  its  o^wn.         ..... 

<»«— ~ OFFICE  IN    FOND  DU   LAC  NATIONAL  BANK   BUILDING 


Wai.  McDERMOTT  J.  P.    McDERMOTT  G.  L.  McDERMOTT 

Wm.   McDermott  Sr   Sons 

INSURANCE,  REAL  ESTATE 
LOANS    AND    COLLECTIONS 

LOCAL    LAND  AGENTS  OF  CHICAGO  &  PROPERTY      OF     NON- 

NORTH-WESTERN  R.  R.  CO.'S  LAND  S  IN  RESIDENTS  RECEIVES 

NORTHERN  WISCONSIN  AND  MICHIGAN  PROMPT    ATTENTION 

.      .      .      COHRESPOXDEXCE    SOLICITED      .      .      . 

24  SOUTH  MAIN   STREET  j^  FOND  DU  LAC,  WISCONSIN 


S^l^e  (Eommonipcaltt; 

Is  intimately  associated  with  the  history  and  progress  of  Fond  du  Lac.  The 
Weekly  Commonwealth,  being  now  in  its  fifty-third  year,  enjoys  the  distinction 
of  being  the  oldest  paper,  not  only  in  the  city,  but  in  the  Sixth  congressional 
district.     The  Daily  Commonwealth  is  in  its  thirty-sixth  year. 

There  are  certain  distinctive  features  about  The  Commonwealth.  Unlike 
many  newspapers  of  the  present  time,  it  does  not  strain  after  sensationalism. 
The  policy  is  to  get  the  facts  and  print  such  of  the  news  as  is  decent  to  print. 
It  is  a  paper  that  can  be  and  is  read  in  the  family  circle — not  one  that  the 
parent  should  seek  to  keep  from  the  children. 

In  addition  to  giving  a  complete  city  and  county  news  service.  The  Com- 
monwealth maintains  special  service  at  Madison,  Milwaukee  and  Oshkosh. 
From  the  former,  the  doings  of  the  state  legislature  and  other  matters  pertaining 
to  the  state  government  are  reported;  from  Milwaukee,  the  metropolis  and  news 
center  of  Wisconsin,  comes  a  great  deal  of  special  news  of  the  state;  and  from 
Oshkosh,  Fond  du  Lac's  closest  neighbor,  comes  much  news  that  is  of  particular 
interest  to  the  residents  of  Fond  du  Lac. 

The  United  States  and  foreign  news  service  is  furnished  by  the  Scripps- 
McRae  Press  Association,  of  which  The  Commonwealth  is  a  member.  This 
association,  co-operating  with  the  Publishers'  Press  Association,  covers  all 
parts  of  the  civilized  world. 

The  P.  B.  Haber  Printing  Company,  publishers  of  the  paper,  operate  in 
connection  a  modern  show  and  job  priming  establishment,  where  practically 
anything  from  a  label  the  size  of  a  postage  stamp  to  the  largest  theatrical  bill  is 
printed. 


358 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


■   •         ■ '  ^'-fr^^r  '^^:^^  ■■■'■■  % 

lliiii^ 

HHH 

i^3a>g^2ai«t-aa:^aii.aaMBMiiii8iffiiiMl^^^^^^Bi 

Lakeside    Park 

Located  One  Mile  North  of  the  Court  House 
on  Shore  of  Lake  Winnebago 


d.  THO/nSGN 


d.  h    ThO/nSEN 


eJ.  TMO/nSEN  &  SON 
^^^Decorating  and  Painting 


Wall  Paper,  Painting  /Materials,  Etc. 

18  SOUTH  AAAIN  STREET 
rOND  DU  LAC  . .  .  WISCONSIN 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


359 


The  ErVing  Hotel 

AMERICAN    AND 
EUROPEAN  PLAN 


EXCELLENT  CAFE 
IN    CONNECTION 


Fond  du  Lac 


Wisconsin 


Ike  Pal 


mer 


H 


ouse 


E    A.    CAREY.  Owner 

G.   A.   ALEXANDER.  Manager 


FIRST-CLASS   HOTEL 

REASONABLE  PRICES 

FINE   EQUIPMENT 


Everything  desired  in  Modern  Improvements,  in- 
cluding Elevators,  Gas  and  Electric  Lights,  Bath- 
rooms, Closets,  Billiard  Rooms,  Sample  Rooms, 
Barber  Shop,  Telegraph  and  Telephone  Service, 
Buffet,  etc 

First-Class  in  All  Respects 

COR.   MAIN  AND  SHEBOYGAN  STS. 

FOND  DU  LAC         J*        WISCONSIN 


rOND  DU  LAC . . . 
NATIONAL  BANK 

or  rOND  DU  LAC.  WISCONSIN 

Capital  $200,000 
Surplus  b^,^^^ 


DIRRCTORS 

0.   A.   GALLOWAY,   Of  Moore  &  Galloway  Lumber  Co 

FRED'K   RUEPING,  Of  Fred  Ruepinq  Leather  Co. 

J.   A.   MERRYMAN,   Merchant 

JOHN   HUGHES,   merchant 

CHAS.    SCHRIBER,    V-Pres.    Old    National    Bank    of 
Oshkosh,    Wis. 

E.  P.   SAWYER,  Capitalist 

G.  A.  KNAPP,  Cashier         C.  A.  GALLOWAY,  Pres. 


Established  1870 

COMMERCIAL 

NATIONAL  BANK 

OF  FOND    DU    LAC,   WIS. 

H.  R.  POTTER,  President 

HENRY  BOYLE,  Vice-President 

A  G.  BECHAUD,  2d  Vice-President 
M.  T.  SIMMONS,  Cashier 

DIRECTORS 

John  T.  Boyle  George  Giddings 

F.  E.  HOYT         D.  D.  Sutherland 


H.    P.    PHEI/PS 


J.   'W.    WATSON 


Phelps  &  Watson 


ATTORNEXS  AT  L,Aw 


DEALEHS    IX 


REAL    ESTATE 


Fond  du   Lac  ^  Wisconsin 


In  Biishiess  Over  Fifty  Years 

©f  ^onb  bu  ^ac    ' 

J.  B.  PERRY,  Pres.      ERNEST  J.  PERRY,  Cashier 


Pircctors 

H.  D.  HITT        E.  R.  HERREN        A.  G.RUGGLES 
G.  W.  EARLE  J.  C.  FUHRMAN 


360 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OP  FOND  DU  LAC 


The  Henri;  3ot;le  Home  for  Aged  Catholics 

Located  on  Park  Avenue.      Erected  in  1903  by  Henry  Boyle 
at  a  Cost  of  1^75,000  for  Building  and  Endowment. 


W.  A.  MEIKLEJOHN 


E.  C.  MARTIN 


MEIKLEJOHJW  &  MARTIN 

FINANCIAL,  AGENTS  INVESTMENT  BROKERS 

REAL,  ESTATE  COMMERCIAL,  PAPER 

MORTGAGES,  STOCKS  AND  BONDS 


SECURITIES  OF  AL.L,  KINDS  BOUGHT  AND  SOLD 
MONEY  TO  LOAN  ON  LONG  AND  SHORT  TIME 


First  National  'Bank  Building 


Jff        Fond  du  Lac,  Wis. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


361 


M-Oore  vk?  Cjallo^vay  Lumber  Co. 

LUMBER,   SHINGLES,    LATH 


SASH  AND  DOORS 


M        M 


Artistic    Glass    a    Specialty 


Interior  Woodwork  in  choicest  Domestic  and  Im- 
ported Woods  at  lowest  prices  consistent  withclnar- 
acter  and  style  of  workmanship. 


DO  NOT  FAIL  TO  SEE  OUR  WORK  AND  GET  ESTIMATES 


Telepkone  No.    4  J- 


FOND  DU  LAC,  WISCONSIN 


NTOENTAL 
OrfflNGlIOUSE 

^g  Largest  Clotking  Estab- 
lisnment  in  tne  Nortn^vest... 


f^     ^^HE  store  that  always  saves  you  money. 
I        V^     If  you  want  the  very  latest  in  Men's 
I        and  Boys'  Clothing,    Hats,   Caps  or    Fur- 
nishing Goods,  you'll  find  it  here. 

The  finest  Custom  Tailored,    Ready-to- 
Wear  Clothing  our  Specialty. 

The  CONTINENTAL 
CLOTHING  HOUSE 

KUH  NATHAN  &  nscHER  CO  42-44  S.  Main  St.,    Fond  du  Lac,  Wis. 


362 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


St.  Agnes'  Sanitarium 

Located  Three  Miles  East  of  the  City  on  What  was  in  Early  Days, 

the  Lyman  PhiUips  Farm.        On  the  Premises  is  Located 

One  of  the  Finest  Springs  in  the  County. 


HELMER  MILLING  CO. 

.  .  One  of  the  Oldest  .  . 

Flour  J   Feed  J   Grain   Salt  and  Seed 

.   .  Firms  in  the  City  .  . 

Retail  Department,   14-16-18  Fourth  Street 
'  Mill  and  Elevator,  183-185-187  Western  Avenue 

^^aaa^^-FOND  DU  LAC,  WIS. 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT  363 


±ke    Daily    and    The    Saturday    Reporter 

Rank  with  the  leading  newspapers  in  Wisconsin.  The  Daily  Reporter 
is  nearly  twenty-four  years  old  and  The  Saturday  Reporter  is  nearing 
its  forty-seventh  anniversary.  These  papers  are  published  by  The 
Reporter  Printing  Company,  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.,  and  support  the 
principles  of  the  Democratic  party.  The  Reporter  has  always  been 
aggressive  and  progressive.  The  first  linotype  machine  ever  used  in 
Fond  du  Lac  County  was  purchased  by  The  Reporter  Printing  Com- 
pany. The  Daily  Reporter  was  the  first  paper  to  secure  a  telegraph 
service  in  Fond  du  Lac.  It  was  the  first  to  publish  an  eight  page,  seven 
column  paper  and  has  always  taken  pride  in  leading  in  all  improve- 
■  ments  until  today  it  has  a  state-wide  reputation.  The  Saturday  Re- 
porter is  one  of  the  strongest  weekly  papers  in  Wisconsin.  It  has  the 
stability  of  age  and  the  progressive  spirit  of  youth,  and  with  this 
combination,  it  has  proved  itself  the  equal  of  any  weekly  paper  pub- 
lished in  Wisconsin  and  the  superior  of  most  of  them.  The  officers 
of  The  Reporter  Printing  Company  are  L.  A.  Lange,  President  and 
Manager;  A.  H.  Tuttle,  Vice  President  and  Superintendent  of  the  Job 
Department;  Emery  Martin,  Secretary  and  Advertising  Manager,  and 
W.  H.  Parsons,  Treasurer  and  Managing  Editor.  The  Reporter  Print- 
ing Company,  besides  publishing  these  papers,  has  one  of  the  finest 
job  rooms  in  the  northwest.  A  specialty  is  made  of  fine  book  and 
catalogue  work  and  high  grade  commercial  work. 


The  Fond  du  Lac 
Dailp  'Bulletin 


Only  Morning  Paper  in  Fond  du  Lac, 


Only  Paper  in  Fond  du  Lac  holding  an  Associated 
Press  Franchise.  Only  Paper  in  Fond  du  Lac 
that  dares  to  be  independent  or  dares  to  tell  the 
truth  about  public  affairs. 


Ten  Cents  a    Week  Only— Delivered  hy  Carrier 


ON  FREE  RURAL  DELIVERY  ROUTES 
The  Bulletin  is  delivered  on  the  morning  of  publi- 
cation, thus  giving  farmers  the  newspaper 
advantages  of  city  residents. 

Send  your  name  to  The  Balletin  and 
get     the     Best    Paper    in    the     County 


36  4 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


GENERi  I.  E.  .S.   BRAGG. 
U.  S.  Consul  General  to  Hongkong,  China. 


JUDGE    NORMAN    S.    GILSON 
President    of    State    Tax   Commission. 


CH.ART.ES  R.   HARRISON 
Died    May    19,     1905. 


CAPT.    M.    MANGAN 
Died    Sept.    26,    1901. 


CONTENTS 


Military    History    5 

Fond  du  Lac  National  Guard   5 

Hibernian    Guards    •     6 

Fond   du   Lac   in   the   War    7 

Fond  du  Lac  Guards— Co.   E    10 

Fountains    and    Water    Works    15 

Caskets  in  Use  Few  Years 17 

Foolish   Forms   of   Speech    18 

Ben  Gilbert  and  His  Cap    IS 

Passenger   Steamboats   on    the   Lake...   IS 

Lumber   and   Lumbermen    19 

Sawmills     22 

Shinglemills      23 

Meyer    Factory     25 

Steenberg   Factory    26 

McDonald   &    Stewart   Factory    26 

To   Teach   English   to  Indians    26 

Fond    du    Lac    Railroads    27 

Dealers   in   Dry   Goods    29 

Dry   Goods  in   Ripon    32 

First   County   History    33 

Curious   Relics   and   Records    33 

Furniture    Manufacture    33 

Scripture   or   Not   Scripture    34 

Disliked    Scandal   Cases    34 

XDld   Time   Postofflce   Clerk    34 

County    Seat   Contest    34 

The    Indian    Scare    35 

Pencils   Forty   Years  Ago    36 

Methods  of  Preserving  Fruits   36 

The  Hardware   Trade    37 

Relics   of  the   Past    39 

Fountain    City   Herald    39 

The   Old   Giltner  Place    40 

Peat  Fifty  Years  Ago    40 

Laundry   Not   Thought   Of    40 

Fire    Department     41 

Death   of   Ira   Schoolcraft    44 

Water  "Was  Let  Out    44 

Gen.    Hamilton   a   Veteran    44 

Boot  and   Shoe   Trade    45 

Where    Tinware    Was   Made    47 

Early    Days'    Fishing    48 

Queer  But  Not  a  Fool   48 

Bullis  Was   a   Practical   Joker    48 

The    Earliest    Settler 49 

Banks    and    Bankers    51 

Savings    Banks     54 

Ripon     Banks     55 

Waupun    Banks    56 

Crooked    Channel     57 

Free   Will   Baptist   Church    58 

Early   Day   Shingle  Machines    58 

Railroad   Open    to   Chester    58 

Fond  du   Lac   PostofHce 59 

Patent    Right    Sharpers    61 

Capt.  Mapes  and  His  Text 61 

Sails   on   Lake   Winnebago    62 

Paradise    for    Hoboes    62 

Printing   and    Printers    63 

Contents    of    the    Newspapers 66 

New  Style  of  Type  Stickers 67 

The    Point    System    67 

Use  of  Plate   Matter    67 

Other    Innovations    67 

Tommy  Heil,   the  Mechanic    68 

Gibson    Blacksmith    Shbp    68 

From  Church  to  Opera  House   68 

Home  of  A.   H.   Clark    68 

Musical    Instruments     69 

Dr.    Darling   Homestead    70 

Was   a   Talented   Artist    71 

A    Candle    Factory    73 

First  Circus  Here    73 

Henry  Bush  Lost  Chickens    74 


W'ar    Shinplasters    74 

First   Cedar  Blocks   Used    74 

Genuine   Missionary   Spirit    75 

Preceded    the   Lange    Block    76    ^ 

Hotel  Brought  From  Taycheedah 76 

A  Few  of  the  Firsts    77 

Metzgar   in    the    Procession    80 

Koehne   and  the  Dutch   Gap    80 

First  House  in  Fond  du  Lac   81 

Threshing   and   Fanning  Mills    82 

Was   Not   Many  Years  Ago    83 

History    of    Elections     85 

Village   of   Fond   du   Lac    85 

City  of  Fond  du  Lac   86 

Ofhcers  of  County    87  to   92 

School    Superintendents    93 

Fond  du  Lac  Legislators 94 

Members    of    Assembly     94 

Governors   of   Wisconsin    95 

Members    of    Congress    96 

U.    S.    Senators    97 

Presidential    Candidates     97 

Two    Remarkable    Events 99 

Coming  of   Salvation   Army    101 

Frost  Everv  Month  in  the  Year 101 

Big     Fountain     101 

One   of  the  Railroad   Engineers    102 

Old  Home   of  Mrs.   Arnold    102 

Street  Railways  and  Lighting    103 

Electric    Lighting    104 

Noisy    Preachers    104 

Great  Work  of  Bishop  Grafton    105 

Bakery    Bread    Here    108 

Pioneer  Farmers  and   Settlers    109 

First    City    Directory    116 

Early   Day   Flouring  Mills    117 

Forgot  His  Wife    120 

Wanted   Circus   Tickets    120 

An    Albino    Barber    120 

Drugs   and   Medicines    121 

Here    Since    1846    122 

Those   Here    Now    123 

City  of  Ripon    124 

City   of   Waupun    125 

Stone    Yard    Experiment    126 

Amory   Hall   and   the   Peak   Family 126 

Indians  and   Indian   Payments    127 

First   Harness  Made   Here    129 

Early    Theatre    Methods    130 

Holland    Dutch    Windmill    130 

Physicians    and    Surgeons 131 

Physicians  of  Fifty  Years  Ago    132 

Resident    Physicians   in    1850 132 

From  1848  to  the  Present 133 

Now    in    Practice    Here 133 

Ripon    Physicians    136 

Physicians  in  the  County 137-139 

Medical    Organizations    139 

First   National   Hotel    140 

Dentists   and    Dentistry    141 

In   Practice  Here  Now    142 

City  of   Ripon    142 

City   of   "^^aupun    143 

Francisco   on   a    Slab    143 

First   Job   Press   Here    144 

Making  Sheet   Iron   Stoves    144 

Wide   Awakes  of   1860    144 

The  Bench  and  Bar   145 

Four   Veteran    Survivors    145 

Lawyers    of    1850    146 

Strong  and   Able   Bar    146 

Comers    Since    1850    146 

Came   Since   1900    148 

Pioneer    Court     148 

First    Supreme    Court    148 


366 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


CONTENTS- Continued  I 


Military    Records     148 

Circuit    Court    Judges    149 

Succession    of    County    Judges 150 

Marsliall  and  His  Liniment    150 

About   Some  Old  Houses    150 

Gas  Works  and  Gas  Men 151 

First   Yacht  Here    153 

Weather  of  January   1,   1854    153 

Western    Avenue    Bridge    153 

A  Cat  Ready  to  Fight   154 

Dry   Hop   Yeast    Business 155 

Clothing,    Jewelry,    Groceries,    etc 157 

Clothing    Trade    157 

Jewelry    Trade    157 

Grocery    Trade    157 

Milliners   and    Dressmakers    158 

Florists   and   Gardeners    158 

Tobacco  and  Cigar  Trade    158 

Draying  and   Parcel   Delivery    159 

Passenger    Transportation    1*30 

A   Cow    That   Walked   In 16  ) 

Free    Public    Library    161 

A  Few  Remarkable  Years    163 

Billy   Ford,    the    Stage   Man    164 

First  Jobs   Printed    164 

Old  Marr  Street  Cottage 161 

Astor  Hall  as  a   Saloon    164 

Pioneers  in   1874   and   1904 165 

Wheel    and    Seeder   Company    166 

E.   A.   Brown  Post  G.   A.   R 167 

Woman's    Relief    Corps    168 

Railroad   Was   Extended    170 

A    Few    Murders    171 

Success    in    Politics    173 

Trouble    About    Type 174 

Not   Anxious    for   Office    174 

Edward  Beeson  as  an  Editor    174 

The    Literary    Field     175 

Peculiar    Political    Contest    177 

Freedom   from    Storms    177 

Greenbackerg    and    Grangers 178 

Water    for    a    Horn    Blower    178 

Very    Exciting   Day    179 

Founder  of  the  Commonwealth    180 

Birth  of  the  Republican  Party   181 

Sole    Survivor   at   Ripon    182 

Michigan's     Claim     182 

Watrous  and   Kutchin   as   Writers    ....184 

Navigation   on   the  Lake    185 

Sails  on   Lake   Winnebago    186 

Transportation   on  Wheels    ..186 

Crook   in   Main    Street    187 

Annual  M.   E.   Conference    187 

Teachers   in    High    School    187 

A   Country .  Grindstone    188 

He   Had   a  Peculiar   Habit    188 

A  Low   Down   Whiskey   Shop    188 

Fay   Brown,   of   Tjamartine    188 

Some   Queer   Descriptions    188 

Memories    of    the    Past 189 

Great   Fire   of   1852    189 

They   Were    Strong  Men    190 

They   Were    Disappointed    190 

Beet    Sugar    Factory 191 

Ton   Cold   to  Work    191 

A   Popular   Family    192 

First    Wood    Yard 192 

All    Gone    Now    193 

Clown   and    Trunk   Maker    193 

Elected   by   One   Vote    193 

Big   Pair   of   Boots    194 

Reaper    and   Mower   Trial 1 94 

Could   Not   Be   Changed    194 

Great    Wrestler    1 95 

Was   Not    a    Favorite    195 

Not    Fast    Boats     195 

Favored    Seward    195 

Once    a    Lively    Place    195 

Soon    Abandoned    196 

Was  a  Popular  Man    196 


Sometimes    Abrupt     196 

First   Gunsmith    Shop    196 

Much   Cheaper   Than   Now    196 

Has    Been    Changed    196 

A   Useful    Building    197 

Presbyterian    Church    Steeple    197 

Brewery   at   the   Spring    197 

Sam   Ryan  Was  Here    197 

War    Shinplasters    198 

No   Residences   There    198 

What  Was  Said  and  Done    199' 

A   Fond  du   Lac  Cannon    199 

Old    Time    Joke    199^ 

Got    Drunk    There    2001 

Pigeon    Hunter     20» 

Got    Stung    201 

Trouble  Among  Clerks    201 

He    Presided    Well    202 

Bony   Always    There    202 

A   Crude    Affair    202 

A    Great' Whittler    203 

The    Davis    Tribe    203 

Some    Heavy    Moving    203 

Mutual    Barber    Shop    203 

Won   the   Silver   Trumpet    204 

There   Were   Lively   Times 204 

A  Crooked   Stream    204 

Need  of  a  Light  House    204 

Signs    Were    Out    205 

Largest  Lodge  in   State    205 

Old    Time    Theatre    205 

First   'Bus   Line    205 

Could  Not  Defeat  Him 205 

Came    in   Flying 206 

Occupied  For  Church  Purposes 206 

Stage  Lines  in   1849    206 

Happenings    Here    and   There 207 

Ice     Business     207 

Disobedience    of    Orders     207 

We   Forget   About  It    208 

Distressing    Event     209 

Deliverv    of    Goods    209 

Old   Time   Fourth   of  July    209 

Storm   in   Printing  Office    210 

Cruelly    Shot    Down    210 

Quicklv     Taken    Up 211 

Oats   in   Church    211 

Died   in   His   Chair    211 

Early    Lecture    Course    212 

Forgot    Himself    212 

Captive    Bird     212 

Was   a    Surprise    213 

Darling's    Gap     213 

White    Indians    213 

Lawsuit   for   a   Calf    213 

Some  of  the  Railroad  Men   214 

Thinking.    Talking,    Acting    215 

Franklin    Insurance    Co 215 

Fooled  Away  His  Money   215 

R.  R.  V.  U.   Railroad 216 

Earlv   Days  of  Spiritualism    217 

Well    Known    Pioneer    217 

Brought   a   Bear   to   Market 218 

A   Prominent   Farmer    218 

Elder    Rogers   and    Contrabands    219 

High    Ceilings    a    Mistake 219 

Capt.   Knapp  and  Badger  State    219 

Tedious    Trip     220 

Quick  Answer  to  Call    220 

Foil   Into   the   River    220 

First   Concrete   Cellars    221 

Dangerous    Cannon     221 

Early   Day   Skating   Trip 221 

Bad    Egg   Dealer    221 

Another   Old    Settlers'    Club    222 

Manley   Fell   Into   the   River    222 

A    Long   Time   Ago 223 

Did    Not    Like    Politics    223 

First  Methodist  Church    223 


FROM  EARLY  DAYS  TO  THE  PRESENT 


367 


CONTENTS-  Continued 


Had  a  Blister  to  Fight 223 

Attempted    Street    Improvement    224 

Hazen    Martial    Band    224 

A    Successful    Doctor    225 

Strong    Union    Man    225 

A     Spaniard     225 

Fastest   Steamboats    225 

Popular    Pioneers    226 

Disappearance    of    Five    Pies    226 

Kept  Pies  and  Pop  Beer   226 

Hit  with  a  Beer  Glass    226 

Prominent  Men   at   Ripon    227 

All    Sold    Liquor    227 

Slow    Workmen     228 

Telegraph    Operator     22S 

Instructor   at    Gymnasium    228 

"Would   Not   Pay   Dog   Tax    228 

Channel   at   Lakeside    229 

New    Judicial    Circuit    229 

Ripon    Convention    Men    229 

Early    Days    Hashery    230 

First    Bicycles     230 

Building   by    Bonesteel    230 

Experiences  in   Pioneer  Days    231 

Dr.    Miller  Came    231 

On   the  Milwaukee  Road    231 

Trip   of  Hazen    Family    232 

A  Shopping  Party's  Trials   233 

Riding  Behind   Oxen    233 

Kitchen    Experiences     283 

Mail    for   Phalanx    234 

Privation    of   Mills    234 

Rich   and  Poor    235 

Settlers    and    Indians 235 

Editor  in  Hen's  Nest    236 

Sickness  and  Death   Came    236 

Education    Not    Neglected    237 

Primitive    Vehicles    237 

U.    S.    Senator  Howe    238 

To  and  From  Oakfield    239 

Oil   Mill   Once   Here    239 

Grand    Masquerade    240 

Mr.   Beeson  as  a  Musician    240 

Old  Fashioned  Democrats   240 

Address  by  H.   E.   Swett    241 

Some  Straightening  Done    242 

Tales    of    Pioneer    Days    by    Madame 

de    Neveu    243 

Scout's   Lost   Dauphin   Story    !.243 

Scorned    the    Tomahawk    244 

A   Song  of   Long  Ago    247 

Some  of  the  Ripon  Pioneers   248 

Winnebago   Furniture   Company    248 

Quaker   Abolitionists    249 

A  Nephew  of  Gen.   Longstreet   251 

House   of  Alonzo   Raymond    251 

Imitation    Stone   Made   Here    251 

Lathrop   Ellis  House    252 

Banks  in   the   County    252 

First   Book   Bindery    252 

Early  Door  Factory   252 

The    Printer  Editor    253 

Helped    to    Make    Histors' 255 

Was  a  Close   Contest    .  .\ 255 

Made    Wood    Type    256 

Oldest    Continuous    Business    257 

An    1S4S    Tin    Shop    257 

Old    Time    Singing    School    258 

An    Old    Time    Quarrel 258 

First    County    Surveyor    258 

Vote   on   Negro   Suffrage    258 

A  Mistake   in    Survey    259 

Anniversary    of    a    Printer    "259 

Reporter    Established    259 

Struck    by    Epidemics '.'260 

Large   Number  of  Deeds 260 

E.   R.   Ferris  and   Sheep's  Gray   262 

Old    Time   Records    261 


An    Early   Days'    Worker    26? 

Lake    de    Neveu    Outlet    263 

An   Early   Planing  Mill 263 

Period   of  Hoop    Skirts 264 

Simple   Matter   of   Sense    264 

Macy   Street   Changes    264 

Successful    Effort    265 

An    Honest    Grocerj'man    269 

An    Unfortunate    Shoemaker    269 

Dr.   H.   B.   Dale  Once  Here    270 

Former   Fond    du   Lac    People 270 

Fred  May  and   Homing  Pigeons    270 

An    Old    School    Darkev    270 

Court  House  Talk    .  .  . ' 271 

The   Old   and   the   New 271 

Old  Court  House  Yard    273 

Court   House   and    Countv   Fairs 273 

Old   Court   House   Offlce.s' 274 

Saved    the   Court   House    274 

About  the  Roads    274 

Improvement    Company    275 

Born  a  Mathematician    276 

Police    Department    277 

Well   Known   and  Wealthy    279 

Experiences  of  Early  Dealers   279 

Wild   Bakery  and  Confectionery    280 

Rueping    Tannery    280 

All    is    Not    Possible 280 

Now    Almost    Unknown 281 

Ashf ord    Bear    Story    283 

Refrigerator    Business     283 

Wisconsin   Phalanx  at  Ripon    284 

The    Drug  Mill    284 

Paper  Money   Smells   Bad    285 

Few   Now   in   Existence    286 

Matches   Not   in    Use 286 

Level   of  Dr.    Bishop's  House    286 

Old   Settlers  in   1905 287 

Old    Settlers'    Program    288 

Fourth  of  July  Fire   289 

Coming  of  Stephen  A.   Douglas    290 

Seemed   Like   a   Long  Job    290 

Tallmadge   and    Mitchell    290 

To   Be   Tried   Again    291 

Assisting  Dame   Nature 291 

Nature    Solves    the    Problem    291 

Development    of    Peat    291 

Another    Indian    Scare    292 

"Was   a    Grand    Bird    293 

Early   Days'   Hotels    294 

Black   Hawk   Lived  Here    294 

Put  Into  the   Box    295 

Comer    Stone    Laid    296 

County    Organization     297 

Old  Timers  on  County  Board   299 

Abstracts  and   Land   Titles    300 

Not   Made   Here    Since    300 

Aborigines    from    1764 301 

Early   French    Traders    302 

Indian   Took  His  Dog   304 

Fond  du  Lac  File  Works 304 

Stone  Cutting  by  Air  Pressure 304 

The    Machine    Shops    305 

Good    Pork    Joke 306 

West    Side    Trail    306 

Fond   du    Lac    "Home"    307 

An    Exciting    Trial     310 

Deer  at  Crofoot   Bridge    310 

Solomon    Juneau    311 

Beeson  House  on   Third  Street   311 

Thre.'shing  Machines  and   Tables    312 

B.   F.   &  H.  L.   Sweet  Shops   312 

Once   a   Chiccory  Factory    312 

Occurred   Some   Time  Ago    313 

Where    They   Have    Lived 314 

Money    Not    Reliable 315 

Chief    Oshkosh     315 

Sylvan    Grove    Cemetery    316 

Kutchin   and   Finney   Discussion    317 


368 


BUSINESS  HISTORY  OF  FOND  DU  LAC 


CONTENTS— Continued 


First   School  House    317 

Landing    Warehouses    318 

Lower  Town  Hotels   318 

Concrete    for    Building 318 

Convent   and   Hospital    319 

Dr.   Patchen   Lost   in   Woods    320 

The   Gillet    Store    320 

Sudden   and   Startling-    321 

Death  of  P.    B.    Hoskins    321 

Always    Wanted    Bread    324 

Death  of  Mrs.   C.   T.   Tracy    324 

The   Honored   Dead    325 

Benjamin   Franklin    Moore    325 

Charles  Rodney   Harrison    326 

Robert  Kennedy  Satterfleld    327 


Lyman  F.    Stow    327 

Charles  Henry  DeGroat   328 

William    Adams    329 

J.    J.    Lurvey    330 

William     Merrill     331 

Pete  Rupp  and  the  Rats   331 

An  Early  Picture  Maker   332 

Early   Days'    Water   Works    332 

Armory    E     333 

Roster  of  Co.  E  in  War   333 

Fond  du  Lac  High  School 334 

Henry   D.    Hitt    335 

Madame   de    Neveu    335 

Masonic    Temple    336 

Fond  du  Lac  PostofRce    336 


^ 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Portrait    of    Author    2 

First  House  in  Fond  du  Lac 81 

Public    Library     161 

Court    House     271 

Fond   du   Lac   Home    307 

St.    Agnes   Hospital    319 

Portrait  of  F.  B.  Hoskins   321 

Armory     B     333 

Fond  du  Lac  High   School    334 

Hon.    Henry    D.    Hitt    335 

Madame    de    Neveu    335 

Masonic    Temple    336 

Postofflce    Building     336 

Elks'    Club    House    338 

Amory   Block  and   Hall    340 


County    Insane    Hospital    342 

Sheriff's   Residence   and  Jail    344 

Bishop's   Home   and   Mother   House 346 

Landing   at   Winnebago   Park 348 

Sheboygan    Street,    Looking   East 350 

West  Front  of  Grafton  Hall    352 

Lakeside   Park   and   Fountain 354 

Taylor    Park    356 

The     Henry     Boyle     Home     for    Aged 

Catholics     360 

St.    Agnes'    Sanitarium    362 

Portrait  of  Gen.   E.    S.   Bragg 364 

Portrait  of  Judge  N.   S.  Gilson 364 

Portrait   of  Charles  R.   Harrison 364 

Portrait  of  Capt.   M.   Mangan 364 


^ 


BUSINESS   CARDS 


Anderson    &    Watson    349 

Anderson,    B.    H 349 

Anderson  Vehicle  Co 341 

Ahern  Co.  T.    E  351 

Abstract    Office     361 

Armory    E    Hall    338 

Bowe   &   Van   Blarcom    349 

Brenner,    Jacob    345 

Bulletin,     Daily     363 

Bishop.    Dr.    L.    A 343 

Clark,    L.    H 341 

Commonwealth,    Daily     357 

Cole    Savings    Bank    .341 

Chegwin,    W.    J 341 

Children's    Teeth     343 

Commercial   National   Bank    359 

Cheney,    S.    H 349 

Continental    Clothing    House 361 

Ecke.   O.   H 339 

Erving    Hotel    359 

Furstnow,    C.    A 345 

Fitzsimons,    M 345 

Fond  du   Lac  County  Abstract  Co 357 

Fond  du  Lac   Steam   Laundry 355 

First    National    Bank    359 

Fond   du   Lac   National   Bank    359 

Grafton     Hall     353 

Gruenheck,    J.    F 337 

Georg.    W.    F 355 

Giffln    &    Sutherland    354 

Hutaer    Bros 353 

Hess.     John     P 348 

Hughes,     John     347 

Henry    Brothers     341 

Hildreth,    G.    A 343 

Hastings,     T.     H 345 

Hauer.    Albert     344 

Helmer  Milling   Co 362 


Haas   &  Wagner    351 

Herbert,    Martin     355 

Holland    Dutch    Remedy    340 

Kremer    Bros 349 

Laundry,    Steam    357 

Maurice     McKenna     339 

Morse    &    Johnson 339 

McDermott  &  Sons,  Wm 357 

Meiklejohn    &   Martin    360 

Moore    &    Galloway    361 

O'Brien   Dry  Goods  Co 3i57 

Prinslow,    Frank    0 356 

Powrie,     R 353 

Palmer    House    359 

Phelps    &    Watson    359 

Palmer,    Spencer    349 

Reporter,     Daily     363 

Reilly,    Fellenz    &    Reilly 339 

Remington   Drug  Co 355 

Rusch    &    Hirth    347 

Swett,  Herbert  E 339 

Sackett,   H.  T 343 

Scherzinger,    G 350 

Strassel    &   Co 351 

Sallade,    N.   W 352 

Swett,     Franklin     346 

Treleven    Bros 341 

Trowbridge,    C.    C 343 

Tait    Fuel     Co 345 

Thomsen   &  Son    358 

Voell   Music  House 345 

Whittelsey    Dry   Goods   Co 337 

Williams,    Grlswold    &    Chadbourne 339 

Wilkins,    J.    K 343 

^Vegner,    J.    F 347 

Wilkie    Hardware    Co 347 

Wagner  Dry  Goods  Co 351 


V     ' 

py^^^ri^i 

^n 

krVi^^..,, 

F6 

6  5-? 

Ikjf^ 

M 

:.':!jM 

